As the unspoken adage in the fashion realm goes, what Harry Styles touches – or rather, wears – turns to gold, and truer words have never been spoken as it pertains to Steven Stokey-Daley.

The Liverpool native, who graduated from the University of Westminster in 2019, felt first-hand the impact of Styles’ Midas touch after the singer’s stylist Harry Lambert tapped Daley to design several pieces for an upcoming undisclosed project. Said project soon transpired to be the video for Styles’ single Golden, which was artistically shot along Italy’s Amalfi coast. 

Alongside his trademark Gucci, which has become as synonymous with Styles as strawberries are with cream, the singer can be seen in the video jogging along winding coastal paths in a breezy white shirt and a pair of wide-leg floral trousers, both of which were lifted straight from Daley’s graduate collection. Said collection was made exclusively from deadstock and leftover tweed, chiffon and silk from Alexander McQueen’s material archive that was donated to the University of Westminster by the brand. 

The rest, as they say, is history. Three years after that debut endorsement and, not only has the collaborative trifecta between Daley, Lambert and Styles been cemented, but Daley has just been awarded the coveted 2022 LVMH Prize, whose previous recipients include Christopher Kane and Thebe Magugu.

“None of it feels at all real,” Daley wrote on social media of his win. “I’m so thrilled to have had the opportunity to introduce my world to the incredible jury. Thank you to everyone for their constant support, it really wouldn’t be possible without the incredible team around me.”

As part of his prize, Daley will receive a £300,000 cash prize and a year’s worth of mentorship, during which he plans to strategise for his brand’s e-commerce offering. It looks like there’s a new golden boy on the style block.

Images: courtesy of YouTube, Harry Lambert and Getty.