Nicholas Daley (Q3499)
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Nicholas Daley is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Nicholas Daley |
Nicholas Daley is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
“I think my parents are going to be quite shocked when they see this inVogue!” Laughed Nicholas Daley, Zooming in to chat about his spring lineup. He was talking about the red, yellow, and green sweater in look 14 of this lookbook. It’s a replica of one his mother and a friend made by hand many years ago for his dad, which Daley remade for this collection as a nod to his parents.Daley could have also been referring to the “Reggae Klub” logo tee in look eight, a reference to the reggae club his parents ran in the late ’70s and early ’80s, or to the plaid kilt in look 12. “My mom would have a go at me if I didn’t have a kilt in the collection,” he explained. Daley could have also been talking about the “Slygo Sound System” logo, a wink at his father’s past DJ name, DJ Slygo.Nicholas Daley, the designer, is a family man. But his charming sentimentalism aside, Nicholas Daley, the brand, is not necessarily stuck in the past. This season he continued his exercise of looking at Jamaican folklore, charting the history of the diaspora from West Africa to the Caribbean, he said. His instrument to do so, in addition to fashion, continues to be music. “I was looking at drum circles within the Rastafarian community, the Nyabinghi where you see them all together in a circle,” the designer explained. “Without this sound there wouldn’t be reggae, ska, grime, hip hop, and all of these other music genres,” he continued, “it all comes back to the drum and the influence of West African drumming.”One of the key elements of this collection, and perhaps the most individual to Daley, was a signature tartan he had woven in Ireland in red, green, and gold. He applied it to relaxed wide legged trousers and worked it into swirls in work jackets. To balance the recurring tricolor story, Daley also developed a fantastic cotton jacquard with a sound wave pattern, which he explained is a homage to the Nyabinghi rhythms that inspired the collection. This he cut into a handsome shirt jacket with rounded pockets, a hoodie, and a casual suit silhouette, which all captured Daley’s appeal: Uncomplicated and both nostalgic and forward-looking at once.Up next, after a stay in Paris during men’s Fashion Week, he is set to attend the Glastonbury festival with his wife, Nabihah Iqbal, who will be DJing. “This is the duality of the things I have a lot of passion for,” said Daley.
“I work as a designer, but then I am someone who is so heavily influenced by music and culture, this collection definitely reflects that.” What it reflects, too, is that Daley is tapped into a world that extends far beyond fashion. It’s something he should always hold on to; it breathes authenticity into his clothes.
26 June 2024
Through Nicholas Daley’s distinctive lens, a print is never just a print. (Even if that eye-catching plaid or block pattern does serve its purpose as a print, drawing attention to a pair of trousers or a jacket.) Instead, for Daley, a print is a window into the world—or, more accurately, worlds—he’s exploring each season; a peeling back of the layers of identity and cultural heritage that feed into his fashion kaleidoscope.While researching for his fall 2024 collection, titled “Anansi Rhythm,” Daley’s eye turned to the poet Louise Bennett-Coverley, better known as Miss Lou, who was known for writing in the Jamaican dialect—and also known for her signature Jamaican bandana dresses, made from a checked Madras cloth. (As Daley explained, the fabric—which derives from modern Chennai—was originally used to clothe enslaved people across the Caribbean, before being reclaimed as a symbol of sartorial pride in Jamaica and a handful of other islands.)In Daley’s alchemical hands, the check was presented in a more traditional form across flannel shirts, then artfully fused with Daley’s signature tartans—deriving from the Scottish side of his family—to unfurl in rich scarlet and caramel across brushed mohair ponchos and oversized cargo pants. (Equally charming were the bomber jackets and kilts in the same pattern, decorated with swishy lengths of colorful fringe.) So too was there a sportier undercurrent tothe collection, whether in the navy cotton pique tracksuits that featured contrasting stripes and piping in burgundy and orange, or the baseball caps and hoodies decorated with the “Reggae Klub” motif that honors his parents’ club night in 1970s Dundee.This smartly pared-back offering also showcased another, less remarked upon, side of Daley’s brand: his ability to translate those silhouettes into something that feels palpably luxurious, be it the ’70s-style paneled denim jackets that also came cut from jewel-toned leather, or the gorgeous jacquards whose patterns were inspired by Malian mudcloth. The final ingredient? Daley’s sense of community: here reflected in the look book images through the carpet beneath the models’ feet, which was crafted by his mother’s knitting club using upcycled fabric scraps from previous collections. They’ll be making an appearance at a day-long takeover Daley is planning at the Victoria & Albert Museum at the end of February. At Daley’s table, everyone’s invited.
24 January 2024
No designer is an island—even if many would likely prefer you to believe their creations are the product of individual genius, rather than the hard work of many. It’s this that makes Nicholas Daley’s genuine enthusiasm for showcasing the input of his collaborators one of the most endearing aspects of his brand. “Highlighting everyone’s input has always been key,” said Daley, after breathlessly reeling off a list of the various artisans and makers who helped bring this season’s vision to life, from custom silks made in Sudbury, to footwear made in rural Ireland, to the bespoke tartans that nod to the designer’s upbringing in Dundee. “Across the world I’ve been building over the years, all of these things are intertwined.”Despite the wide-ranging cast of characters involved, the resulting collection was as impressively coherent as always. As is so often the case for the music-obsessed Daley, the starting point was an overlooked corner of British sonic counterculture: in this case, the roots reggae scene that bubbled up in the Midlands throughout the 1970s and ’80s, and more specifically, that of the Birmingham band Steel Pulse—who, it turns out, are still touring. Daley is heading to Reggae Land festival in Milton Keynes in a few weeks with his dad, with the hopes of enlisting the band for a future campaign; a handful of new stars to add to his ever-growing constellation of collaborators, if all goes to plan.Here, the past was channeled into firmly of-the-moment clothes: zip-up jersey track jackets with sporty stripes across their wide collars; charming, pajama-esque checkered linens that you want to snap up immediately in the current London heatwave; and a ton of fabulous accessories, from hand-crocheted bucket hats to sling tote bags tied at the shoulder with a foppish white bow. There were a few cheekier touches in the mix, too, whether a slick, cropped ’70s jacket cut from leather panels of tan and aubergine, or—most delightful of all—leopard and zebra patterns custom-printed onto gorgeous custom silks. Sure, building a brand is a team effort. (What fashion project isn’t?) Yet it’s a testament to Daley’s self-assurance that, even while acknowledging the efforts of those around him, his singular voice is what shines through strongest.
10 July 2023
As ever intertwined with his experience within the evolution of ska, dub, and reggae in British culture, this Nicholas Daley collection was focused on the midlands tradition of 2-Tone. That was the name of the record label founded by Jerry Dammers in 1979. As well as Dammers’ own band, The Specials, the label promoted sounds from others including The Selecter and Madness. Together their sonic output became emblematic of a progressive and inclusive philosophy of race relations in the UK—a soundtrack of tolerance—when the prevailing cultural ethos was anything but integrated.Daley worked with The Selecter’s charming trilby-toting chanteuse Pauline Black and the writer Benjamin Zephaniah (whose autobiography the designer said is a key influence of his) on the campaign for this collection, and launched it at a six-act ska night in London. Also blended into this rich mix was Daley’s own history: the collection featured a remade version of the t-shirt once worn by the designer’s father to promote his own night, The Reggae Klub, in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Kilts in tartan mohair reflected that Scottishness, while monochrome jacquards produced with the 1720-founded silk weaver Stephen Walters transmitted the key 2-Tone motif (interestingly also riffed on by Undercover’s Jun Takahashi this season).A “rebel jacket” in British melton wool and Italian denim was an attractive 1970s revamp while a quilted bomber in upcycled fabrics from past collections made by Manchester specialist Chris English was a more contemporary camouflage. A fiery suminagashi print from Japan graced multi-pocket shirts while Gabicci-esque knit shirts and sweater jackets were woven with remixed argyles. Especially lyrical were the fitted mod-era suits in Daley’s own, officially registered red, green, and gold tartan worn above collaborative loafers made with GH Bass. Daley is using his collections to start cross-generational conversations about cultural progress in the past, present, and future. And the clothes are excellent too.
6 April 2023
There has always been a celebratory feel to Nicholas Daley’s work—not least thanks to his boisterous runway shows, where musicians are just as likely to be walking down the runway as they are playing their instruments. But this season he had particular reason to feel festive. Last month, Daley married his long-term partner, musician and DJ Nabihah Iqbal, in a ceremony that paid tribute to their respective cultural backgrounds and those of their guests. (Theming the event as “going back to your roots,” guests showed up in the traditional dress of their cultural background, everything from Sierra Leonean kpokpo cloth to Japanese kimonos to Swedish reindeer-leather trousers.)The harmonious coming together of cultures has been a guiding principle of Daley’s brand from the very beginning—in part thanks to his own Scottish Jamaican background—but it felt especially potent in this collection, which was produced while Daley was knee-deep in wedding prep and photographed in the immediate aftermath of the big day. “Everyone who was there at the wedding, the community of people I’ve worked with in the past, they were all reappearing in the collection, so it feels all-encompassing,” he said of the look book. “I try to keep humble about what I’ve been building and creating, but I definitely feel like this season is an accumulation of everything that I’ve been doing over the past few years—and all the incredible people I’ve met along the way.”Titled Calypso, the collection is an ode to the historic Trinidadian musical tradition as well as Daley’s sprawling community of London creatives. Not coincidentally, the shoot also took place just after Notting Hill Carnival, London’s annual celebration of British Caribbean culture, where the steel drums of calypso serve as a reliable soundtrack to the various street parades. The generation-spanning lineup of eclectic talents in the look book range from yogis and poets to filmmakers and musicians; loosely inspired by Irving Penn’s Small Trades series, each subject is accompanied by props that nod to their livelihood. (Daley even managed to include the legendary Trinidadian steel pan player Fimber Bravo, who happened to be in town for the carnival.)A handful of the look book’s stars also collaborated directly with Daley on accessories. Harris Elliott of Le Tings created an ingenious set of oversized totes upcycled from Ghanaian rice bags. British Jamaican hatter Uptown Yardie crafted a series of high-domed, hand-painted hats.
Colorful sunglasses were made with DJ and record label owner Bradley Zero. Finally, the graphics on T-shirts and jerseys came courtesy of artists Olana Janfa and Kione Grandison.The heady cocktail of references Daley looked to was wide-ranging; its genesis was a framed photograph of iconic singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte from the 1960s that had been signed for Daley’s grandmother and was one of her most prized possessions. Daley himself saw Belafonte speak at the Southbank Centre some years ago, and his abiding memory of it is Belafonte’s meditations on balancing being an artist and an activist. “It got me thinking about ancestry and lineage and really exploring this small corner of Jamaica where my family is from,” said the designer.As always, Daley’s way of translating this sentiment into clothes belied his weighty themes, balancing his investigations into the culture of the Caribbean diaspora with, well, really great clothes. Whether inky, abstracted florals; bespoke silk jacquards; or breathtakingly intricate Japanese embroidery, the collection’s exuberance feels infectious. These are impeccably crafted, deeply thought-out pieces you want to look at and touch and, most important, try on. “It definitely feels like a happy collection,” Daley said. “I was playing around and having fun really.” Daley’s oft-repeated, three-prong mantra is to champion community, craftsmanship, and culture—and this upbeat, endlessly charming collection does that in spades.
17 September 2022
There’s so much happening around the community magnet that is Nicholas Daley. There’s the attraction of his meticulously British-sourced menswear, his positioning of shows as live music performances, and now he’s hosting a must-visit pop-up-slash-hangout at 59 Greek Street in Soho, complete with hand-crafted home wear, rare books on Black British culture, posters, vinyl, and clothes. At one end of the shop is stacked a magnificent sound system, a living piece of Notting Hill carnival history loaned to him by the Mighty Ruler. Daley gestured toward it as a welcome to his world. “They’re a sound system group based in West London, and they want to keep it very authentic. So all of this is reclaimed and refurbished from the 1960s. They’re just really great in terms of the sound system, culture, and music. The first thing I thought when I knew I was doing this pop-up shop was: need a sound system!”Downstairs, Daley was prepping his collection ahead of the music event on Thursday night to double-showcase his winter collection and a gig featuring multi-instrumentalist Wu-Lu. “He’s a South London based artist. And he’s blending all these references like rock, punk, reggae, dub— obviously he’s another London creative who we have a lot of synergy with. There’s just a whole wealth of amazing artists who are doing some incredible music right now.”Pinned on Daley’s board were images of George Clinton, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Bob Marley, Bootsy Collins, and Slash, the British-born guitar legend of Guns N’ Roses, whose Black heritage comes through his American mother: the greats responsible for the psychedelic genre-blurring convergence of hard rock, reggae, funk, and punk, and whose influences are reverbing right now amongst Daley’s generation. “They’re looking at the same images, that Black diaspora sonic-scape, and I’m doing it visually. Hence,” he grinned, “I coined up the term Dark Haze for it.”Think of it as a collection produced at Daley’s mixing desk of personal and collective influences: his Scottish and Jamaican heritages merged into tweedy checks woven in Dundee; guitar-riff sound waves rippling synesthetically through a jacquard specially woven by the oldest silk weaving company in the UK; and his signature berets and beanies hand-knitted in sustainable jute yarns by a circle of knitting experts organized by Daley’s mum. A brown Japanese Roketsu wax batik print snaked across a laid-back vaguely martial arts suit.
Far-out vibes were channeled into leather fringing on a jacket and boots made in a rare Canadian collaboration with the long-established Viberg bootmakers.In the end, it’s not an excursion into 1970s stage costume—no giant flares or platforms here—but a nuanced continuation of everything Daley’s built around his ethically centered way of doing things. “For us, it always comes back to community, culture, and craftsmanship,” he said. “And I guess what’s important is the idea of lineage and ancestry, for me, for all of us being second and third generation. I feel I’m in a position [as a designer] to try and bring everyone together. There’s a saying in Jamaica: “out of many, one people.” You know, I think sometimes it’s not just about clothes—the journey is even more important than just the end goal.
19 February 2022
Connecting the divided and disparate in order to fashion a diverse but unified whole: That’s what makes quilting seem so specifically appropriate to the United States—even if its longer history can be traced back to ancient Egypt and most likely beyond. In this collection, the British designer Nicholas Daley expanded beyond the Scottish-Caribbean axis that is so personal to him and upon which he has built the majority of his connections around thus far—and he did it by turning both metaphorically and practically to quilting.Daley is always adding new patches to his practice. In an interview conducted from his new Tottenham studio the day after shooting a new capsule for Mulberry (which includes some new-for-him womenswear), he unwrapped a few of the fresh additions for this season. He said: “Quilting is something I’ve always been inspired by; this idea of repurposing and rebuilding fabrics and how this connects with certain cultures. So, obviously, I was looking at Gee’s Bend and the quilters there, and in Mississippi and across the Deep South. And we’re working on a project with Michael Thorpe who is an amazing artist and bases a lot of his work on quilting, which his mother taught him. With my mother, who is head of the knitters for my collections, we are working on a piece which we hope will be ready for when this collection launches.”Further elements in this patchwork will be fashioned not from fabric, but sound. “We’re working with Caleb Kunle, an amazing singer-songwriter who was raised in Nigeria and moved to Ireland… the music is folky R&B, mixed with this West African heritage, and he speaks Gaelic, too, which is cool,” said Daley.Along with further collaborations with Lianne La Havas and Sons of Kemet in a to-come collection movie that will reference quilt-adjacent musical greats including Joan Armatrading, Richie Havens, and Davey Graham, a fair few of the influences in a collection titled “Blue Quilt” had not been applied at this lookbook stage. Yet the garments, foundations for the further expression to come, reflected the geographically multitudinous embrace of a spiritually connected global diaspora that is Daley’s daily pursuit.Key was the creation of four-by-two-meter quilt works assembled from off-cuts from previous collections, which were then cut into ponchos and bucket hats. Long-term collaborator Gaurab Thakali created a calligraphic collection-title logo that rested on sweats under tie-dye jackets.
Sustainable knitwear was provided by Daley’s reliable, mother-led craft section. Collaboration with a mill in Wexford led to a new oversized pinstripe on linen used in berets, jerkins, and pouches, which chimed pleasingly against the bass line of a precisely pleated made-in-Japan pant and against the feedback of further embroidery, also Japanese. Other satisfying wearable melodies included a Luton-made Panama hat—harking back to a hat making heritage sadly long gone—and a handsome poly-cotton tracksuit.
17 September 2021
A budding martial arts enthusiast, Nicholas Daley earned his red belt in karate last October just weeks before London went into a second lockdown. His interest in the sport informed the collection he showed last summer and continues to be a rich source of inspiration. Where last season British karate Olympic hopeful Jordan Thomas starred in the look book, this time around taekwondo champs Lutalo Muhammad and Christian McNeil model the new clothes.The eastern influence was front and center for fall, with a shibori dyed kimono-style jacket and loosely fitting matching pants, a much cooler take on the tie-dye loungewear that has become ubiquitous in the last year. Daley prides himself on the brand’s commitment to craftsmanship, and those hand-dyed Japanese prints were part of a series of deft artisanal touches peppered throughout the collection. There’s his ongoing collaboration with Lavenham, a British manufacturer specializing in quilted outerwear for the great outdoors, and a partnership with Vanners Silks, a storied silk weaving factory in Sudbury. The boldSuperFly-inspired jacquard tiger stripes that appear on crisp cotton Shaolin jackets and waistcoats are their handiwork.Community is at the heart of what Daley does, as well. And with his mother, Maureen, continuing the family tradition, bringing together local knitting circles across the midlands to produce his signature chunky knit accessories—berets, belts, tams, and crossbody bags—that spirit couldn’t be closer to home.After months and months spent indoors, there are signs of life in Daley’s North London neighborhood—yesterday stores and restaurants across the city opened their doors for the first time since last year. That said, Nicholas Daley HQ has been a hive of activity throughout. Between an upcoming pop-up shop, fundraising efforts for the London-based jazz music education and artist development organization Tomorrow’s Warriors, and a solo exhibit at Now gallery, the designer has had his hands full. He also managed to launch e-commerce last November, giving his business an essential online boost. The label’s reach has expanded considerably in North America too, with Nordstrom among several U.S. stockists to have picked up the line. Despite the challenges of the current moment, it seems Daley’s emerging fashion brand is fighting fit.
13 April 2021
Whether it’s knitting, baking sourdough bread, or learning Cantonese, sanity-saving hobbies might be the biggest trend to have emerged from lockdown. Over the past few months, karate has been Nicholas Daley’s pastime of choice. He picked up the sport thanks to his musician girlfriend—she’s a black belt—shortly before the order to shelter in place went into effect in the U.K.It’s easy to see the martial arts influence in his new menswear collection, with its karategi-style layering pieces and high-waist pants. Daley collaborated with Lavenham, a British manufacturer specializing in quilted outerwear for the great outdoors, on the cool tie-front quilted jackets that toe the line between the dojo and the street. Perhaps not immediately obvious is Daley’s reference to the reggae icon Peter Tosh, a relatively unsung hero in the pantheon of stylish music icons. The tam caps and Jamaican-inflected string vests are nods to Tosh—locally produced hand knits that are fast becoming a best-selling signature for the designer. (Thanks to his LVMH Prize money, Daley was able to continue with the knitters he’s been working with in the U.K.) He’s had considerable success with his inventive slogan tees as well. The title of the new collection, “Stepping Razors,” was writ large in flocked karate-style type on the new versions, and with a graphic illustration of Tosh, mid karate kick, across the back, his first hoodie is likely to be an online shopping hit too.On Daley’s mood board, there were numerous pictures of the musician, including one of him dressed in a karate uniform. You don’t have to look too far to see connections between karate and Black culture—Wu-Tang Clan spring to mind. However, it’s the lesser-known history of Black karate pioneers that Daley is most inspired by, including the likes of Moses Powell, the first martial artist to be invited to perform a demonstration before the United Nations. Daley paid homage to that legacy by enlisting Jordan Thomas, a former world and European champion and Britain’s first Olympic karateka, to model the collection. His talents are on full display in the images, which capture Thomas in a series of impressive karate moves. Even amid a global pandemic, it’s clear that Daley is fully committed to his community-led approach to fashion and making space to elevate talented Black voices as resonant and exceptional as his own.
20 July 2020
Nicholas Daley’s keen sense for fashion is matched only by his taste in music. After last season’s brilliant live jazz performance, he upped the ante tonight with a fashion show that kicked off an entire night of events at Earth, the landmark East London venue. His musician girlfriend Nabihah Iqbal came up with the title of the new collection, “The Abstract Truth,” and shared billing with U.K. dub legend Mala among other artists at the after-party. “I like my shows to be about community, it’s always a friends and family affair,” said Daley speaking backstage between sets.To warm up the crowd for the fashion portion of the evening, he enlisted a trio of young South London musicians—Rago Foot, Kwake Bass, and Wu-Lu—to perform a live score. Borrowing from the world of experimental jazz and psychedelic rock, the music gave song to the wide-ranging references in the new collection, including afro-futurism and the black abstract art movement of the 1970s. He was particularly drawn to the work of Frank Bowler whose first major retrospective opened at the Tate this time last year. The Guyanese-born artist’s vibrant “pour paintings” came through most vividly in a show-stopping hooded poncho.Daley has a knack for spinning utility clothing with a sense of specialness. In place of camo, he used a handsome khaki green jacquard patterned with hand-drawn lines to elevate his fishing-style vests and Crombie coats. The designer’s commitment to supporting local craftspeople is ongoing. In addition to working with an English mill on the custom jacquard, he dug into the archives of Scottish tartan maker Loch Carron, unearthing two particularly striking mohair checks, both of which added a rich hand to slouchy button-down jackets and peg-leg pants.Those traditional British tropes were remixed with handfuls of neo-boho accessories—coin-trimmed necklaces and scarves, knitted crossbody bags and berets—and that magpie eclecticism felt thoroughly modern. With models sporting Jimi Hendrix–inspired coifs, the groovier elements of the collection were nicely amplified. The musicians looked just as cool, dressed in all black and with Daley’s new oversize baker boy hats and genius coin-trimmed sneakers both made in partnership with Adidas. With impressive collaborations like these under his belt, this rising British designer seems poised to bring the noise on the global stage.
4 January 2020
Fashion and music have always gone together. For Nicholas Daley, though, the relationship between the two is especially symbiotic. His parents—one Scottish, the other Jamaican—ran a reggae club in the late 1970s and ’80s, so the designer was raised on a diet of dub, roots, and culture, and all the swaggering style that came with that. Since he launched his namesake label in 2015, Daley has incorporated a musical component into his presentations, usually intimate affairs. Staged in the lofty St. Mary-at-Hill church in the financial district of London, his show this evening was his most ambitious and impressive to date.To set the tone, Daley invited the British jazz band Sons of Kemet for a jam session. Performances at fashion shows are nothing new, but it is rare to see musicians walk the runway while playing their instrument. Bandleader Shabaka Hutchings opened the show saxophone in hand, dressed in orange-and-brown cargo pants and a matching utility vest layered over a mesh tank. His bandmates followed shortly behind him, including the tuba player Theon Cross, who swept in wearing a poncho and Irish linen shorts. Daley is a stickler for details, down to the incense that’s custom-formulated in Japan to fit the vibe of each show. The clothes were just as considered, with cowrie shells hand-threaded through the eyelets of sneakers and charming knitted satchels. Speaking after the show, Daley took pride in underscoring the fact that he produces in the United Kingdom.As far as bigger-picture inspiration goes, all roads led back to the Sun Ra Arkestra. The hugely influential American jazz group has always had a dedicated following, but lately its afrofuturist vision has been resonating in mainstream culture with movies such asBlack Pantherand artists like Janelle Monae. The spirit of Sun Ra, who passed away in 1993, was very much present today in the chunky knit skull caps, the square-shaped statement sunglasses, and the exuberant tie-dye shirts that were custom-made in Japan. Jazz music has been having a renaissance in London, with a spate of new club nights in the south of the city. Designer Grace Wales Bonner is among the new generation of jazz heads, and she invited Gil Scott-Heron’s longtime musical partner, Brian Jackson, to play alongside Solange at her Devotional Sounds event in New York last month.
As the hype beast–driven streetwear movement hurtles toward saturation point, it’s menswear designers like Daley in London and Emily Bode in New York who are edging ahead with a new, more soulful approach to making clothes, one with an emphasis on craft and community.The show ended on a high note when the entire audience was invited to dance with the band—models, editors, and buyers all let go of their inhibitions. Fashion shows don’t get more fun or inclusive than that.
8 June 2019