AS Storm Eunice tossed the first day of London Fashion Week into a tsunami of disarray, it appeared Liverpudlian designer, Steven Stokey-Daley, was impervious to the madness, presenting an AW22 collection that was equal parts sensual and subtle.
Following on from his much-awaited debut – which unravelled the overtly camp uniforms of Britain’s upper class – Stokey-Daley authored the next chapter in this comparably Etonian tale, studying the prevalence of classism and the disunion of the stately home as the beating heart of the elite.
The collection was separated into two acts; opening in the imperial home, Stokey-Daley questions the strict sartorial codes of today’s patriarchal dressing. A leather waistcoat decorated with tassels is cut from diamonds of surplus leather. Paired with briefs, the ensemble summons an image of a jejune Sebastian-like figure lifted from the pages of Brideshead Revisited, fleeing the formality of the stately home to meet a male paramour in the nocturnal hours.
And this collection heralds Stokey-Daley’s entrée into womenswear, a sleek window-pane check suit is double-breasted, with a collar of surplus leather.
A tuxedo shirt is layered with a pleated front bib reaching down to the knees like a nightgown, as Stokey-Daley defines in the show notes, it recalls the character of a Bright young thing, blissfully unaware of the scandalous acts and deep hedonism that occurred the night before.
Migrating to the grounds of the stately home, 17th century drawings of poppies are printed onto striped shirts, worn with sweeping wide-leg trousers reminiscent of 1920s Oxford bags.
Styled by Harry Lambert – who introduced Stokey-Daley’s designs to Harry Styles – wide lapel trench coats emblazoned with 18th century etchings of birds were worn by models like tousled-hair sons of Earls or androgynous daughters of Dukes.
As models clash and collide in a sinuous dance during the show, a tension between chaos and calm became apparent. Conjuring characters from disparate times and places, Stokey-Daley commented on the crusade for stifled establishments and the consequences of those imprisoned by their privileges – but most importantly, underlined the rigidity of classism in today’s society.
by Sophia Ford-Palmer