S.S. Daley Wins Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design
LONDON — Steven Stokey-Daley, founder and creative director of S.S. Daley, has won the 2024 Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, presented the award to Stokey-Daley during a ceremony at the Royal Academy of Arts on Thursday morning.
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“It’s a huge honor and very exciting to have been chosen to receive this award. To join the people who have won this award in the past is very flattering, and very exciting,” Stokey-Daley said.
Stokey-Daley is the seventh recipient of the award, which recognizes young designers who are making a difference to society through either sustainable practices or community engagement.
Previous winners include Richard Quinn, Bethany Williams, Rosh Mahtani of Alighieri, Priya Ahluwalia, Saul Nash and Foday Dumbuya of Labrum London.
It was the second time the Duchess of Edinburgh presented the award. In 2021, Sophie, then the Countess of Wessex, handed the award to Ahluwalia in a virtual ceremony during lockdown.
Caroline Rush, chief executive officer at the British Fashion Council, said S.S. Daley has made remarkable strides in fashion with “his unique approach to menswear and storytelling through design. His use of deadstock fabrics and commitment to diverse model casting demonstrates a bold, innovative spirit that perfectly embodies the essence of British fashion.”
The award caps an eventful few years for the designer, who received the LVMH Prize for Young Designers in 2022.
In January, Stokey-Daley presented his fall 2024 collection at Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio as a guest designer of the 105th edition of Pitti Uomo. On the same day, it was announced that Harry Styles had acquired a minority stake in the company.
The pair were introduced by Styles’ stylist Harry Lambert, who created the wardrobe for the artist’s “Golden” music video, outfitting him in Stokey-Daley’s graduate collection.
Over the years, Stokey-Daley’s shows have been memorable affairs. Past events have featured the designer’s friends at the National Youth Theatre performing love letters between Vita Sackville-West and Violet Keppel and Ian McKellen reading an Alfred Tennyson poem.
S.S. Daley will present its spring 2025 collection, and the first full womenswear offer, on Friday during London Fashion Week.
The designer has long had a gender-fluid take on the uniforms of the British upper classes, such as wide-leg trousers, argyle-knit wool vests and embroidered shirts. His collections appeal to a Gen Z sensibility and a growing female customer base.
“We’ve always referenced the idea of the royal family and historically we’ve referenced aristocracy in the U.K. My point of view is very different from their point of view. From the beginning, it’s always been more of an observation and a study when referencing the royal family so it’s quite a full-circle moment to be given this award,” Stokey-Daley said.
Since 2018, a designer has been selected by the BFC, in collaboration with the Royal Household, for the award. The trophy is inspired by the Queen Elizabeth rose and hand-produced by Lucy Price at Bauhinia Studios and in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
The award ceremony is a key part of the annual BFC Foundation Impact Announcement Day. The BFC Foundation, the charity arm of BFC, has handed 4.3 million pounds in funds to designers and scholars over the years.
At the ceremony, Rush said the BFC will publish an impact report on Thursday, detailing the tangible impact the BFC Foundation has made over the past four years. During the financial year 2023 to 2024, the BFC invested 619,000 pounds in education supporting 39 designers through scholarships and designer support schemes.
Rush said the report showcases the BFC’s commitment to securing the future pipeline of talent to the industry globally.
“Despite the challenging landscape that designers are facing, I remain optimistic because of the incredible resilience of our creative community. In 2020, we set the goal of raising 10 million pounds in 10 years and I am delighted to say that we are on track and will continue with this momentum,” she added.
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