S.S.Daley fall winter 2023

S.S.Daley presents the fall winter 2023 collection in London.

S.S.Daley presents a collection about the enveloping, expansive world of the water and the lives lived upon it. The starting point was The Ninth Wave by Kate Bush, a song cycle part inspired by Alfred Tennyson’s The Coming of Arthur. For Daley, these linked with newly discovered family histories about his great-grandfather’s life at sea, queer narratives, and the yearning to chart the brand into new territories.

“Listening to The Ninth Wave by Kate Bush, I found the whole universe in it. I do see clothes as music, and this feeling for the collection overtook me in a way that I couldn’t ignore. The pull of the water has led us to a fresh new world, one that’s about the confidence of being who I want to be,” says Steven Stokey-Daley.

A sailor across time is emblematic of the show, emerging in a rounded peacoat with a life drawing of his lover attached to the front like a keepsake. Underneath, he wears a pleat-front shirt, a sequined rugby shirt around his waist, and a softened sailor’s cap on his head.

Three shirts are shredded and then stitched together as if a sailor was stranded at sea, worn with sequined briefs and a hand-knit balaclava. A singlet has Daley’s signature tied-keyhole detail, the tied-keyhole also on a bias-cut cotton-jersey dress that’s striped and voluminous as a flying flag. A white shirt with an etched duck print is worn with little tailored shorts, the striped lining visible, like an imagined uniform to wear on deck.

For the first time, Daley presents technical clothing, an interest of his since college. A hooded cagoule with an asymmetric zip and raglan sleeves is double layered, with a custom-made silk jacquard on top and dry cotton beneath. It’s worn with brown cotton cargo pants with lieutenant pockets on the sides, finished with hand overlocking stitches, as if finished by the sailors themselves.

Knitwear runs throughout, such as a long knitted sweater that almost reaches the floor, just like those once worn by fishermen. It is decorated with a life-drawing print, and worn over a godet skirt made from various shirting stripes. There’s also a sweater knitted with dried flowers, like those pressed in a book by a sailor from far off lands, and a cardigan handknitted with a landscape as if land first spotted after weeks at sea.

Tailoring is a focus, such as the suit jacket cut with a neat sailor’s collar, the jacket’s front seams picked out with hand-stitching, and its buttons handmade ceramic. These are worn with slim trousers, while a little tailored jacket has a laced back that pulls open the front to reveal the jersey top and long johns worn beneath proudly. Meanwhile, ties are printed with pin-ups that push beyond gender, a print that also appears blown up on a silk rectangle dress.

A cotton dress is cut to balloon before the gathered hem as if sails in full motion. Shirting is printed with oranges, like the first time the fruit has been tasted. And then night falls: an asymmetric gown is cut from layers of chiffon and sequin as if worn by the queen of the ship. A double-breasted suit is entirely sequined, fastened by just one button, with nothing worn beneath - all that’s there is the shimmer effect as if the water in the moonlight.

Eyewear frames throughout are by DL Eyewear.

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