Harry Styles Has a New Favorite Designer

Harry Styles has made his first major fashion move following the departure of Gucci’s former creative director Alessandro Michele. It was announced on Thursday that the singer, a fierce champion of Michele’s designs throughout his tenure at the Italian brand, has taken a minority stake in emerging British label S.S. Daley, winner of the 2022 LVMH Prize for Young Designers.

The news follows designer Steven Stokey-Daley’s spring 2024 runway show presented at the Florentine trade fair Pitti Uomo. Styles has been a proponent of S.S. Daley ever since his stylist, Harry Lambert, introduced him to the brand in 2020. Stokey-Daley is best known for his quirky menswear styles that are defined by his unique Birtishisms—think ballooning pleated pants, reworked oxford shirts, playful knits.

“It’s been very much organic,” Stokey-Daley says in an interview with British Vogue. “One of the really nice things is, Harry approached me and sort of made it apparent that he was a fan of what we’re doing. And of course, I’m very much a fan of his.”

Styles has worn Stokey-Daley’s designs on several occasions, and seems to have moved away from the current Gucci led by Sabato De Sarno, so the move feels like a natural fit. Most notably, Stokey-Daley outfitted Styles in several looks for his “Golden” music video, which he credits for propelling his brand into the forefront of the industry.

“When it came out, he completely widened the spotlight for me,” the designer said of the video. “There was a huge acceleration in my orders. And it just escalated from there.” The designer added that Styles’s linen shirt and Oxford bags were “made from curtains my grandmother found in a charity shop in Liverpool.”

Exact details of the agreement remain unknown. However, it’s quite significant for a celebrity of Styles’s stature to make a move of this nature. Yes, celebrity visibility is important for emerging labels, but an actual financial investment is equally, if not more, valuable. “It means I’ve been able to relaunch my direct-to-consumer website and take on staff,” Stokey-Daley said of the news.

In a statement released shortly after his runway show, packed full of graphic knitwear and tailoring, Stokey-Daley discussed the future of his namesake label under the watchful eye of the hitmaker. “Harry and I have a shared vision for the future of S.S. Daley, and we look forward to this new chapter together as we focus on brand longevity and scaling the business into a modern British heritage house.”