Nicholas Daley Celebrates Calypso Music and Caribbean Stories
Celebrating the rich history of Calypso music and the Caribbean, the designer's latest fashion film marks the release of Daley's S/S 23 collection into stores.
Celebrating the rich history of Calypso music and the Caribbean, the designer's latest fashion film marks the release of Daley's S/S 23 collection into stores.
London-based designer Nicholas Daley lives by 3 tentpoles: community, craftsmanship and culture. This mantra of sorts has underpinned Daley's work as a fashion designer and cultural curator since graduating in 2013, whether that be the live musical performances at his runway shows, immersive fashion films or thoughtful collaborations with brands like Mulberry and Fred Perry.
Weaving new traditions and stories into being through exquisitely crafted clothes, Daley's connection to music is paramount. Growing up amongst the sounds of his parents' Reggae Klub in Scotland, he had no other than the icon Don Letts walk his graduate show.
Letts returns to feature in a new Nicholas Daley film alongside Grammy-Nominated reggae artist Protoje and multimedia artist Rene Matic. This latest endeavour, the fashion film Calypso, unveils a celebration of Caribbean diasporic identity and musical output.
Marking the release of the Nicholas Daley S/S 23 collection in stores, the Calypso fashion film and documentary features the sounds of actor, singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, and a conversation on the impact of Calypso music between legendary Trinidadian musician Fimber and the broadcaster, DJ, and writer Zakia Sewell. They explain the chain reactions of music, how one sound evolves and impacts another. In short, this is about the emergence and development of culture. Wearing Nicholas Daley throughout, the film visually ties back to the S/S 23 lookbook. This is a lesson in how the intimate threads of folklore and music can be retold through clothes.
'For this short film, I wanted to celebrate not just the story and the history of calypso music but of the creative community and artists who I have had the privilege to work and collaborate with over several seasons', Daley tells SHOWstudio.
It was also a way to showcase a cross-generational conversation through imagery, music and culture with an interview with one of my favourite artist's steel pan player "Fimber Bravo" being interviewed by Zakia Sewell which creates a really interesting dialogue to add to the visual textures of this collection, seasons, fabrics tones which together creates something really powerful and touches on the three core values of the brand which are community, craftsmanship and culture.'
