Fashion Month is full of surprises, from the boundary-pushing celebrity outfits to the guest appearances in the front row.
While we're accustomed to oogling the front row and the glamorous guests, celebrity cameos on the runway are becoming more common, as designers invite actors and musicians to breathe more life into their designs.
The latest cameo came in the form of Ian McKellen, who last night opened the S.S. Daley show at London Fashion Week, giving the models a run for their money.
Taking place in a shadowy basement venue in London's Soho with a video backdrop of churning water, McKellen turned the pared back runway into a theatre, reciting one of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Arthurian poems and amping up the drama in a way that only a Shakespearean actor can.
As part of the show's 'Lost at Sea' theme, McKellen wore a stylishly louche outfit, donning a silk sailor's cap, wide legged trousers and a navy peacoat emblazoned on one side with a sketch of a nude male figure.
The designer, Steven Stokey-Daley, is known for his theatrics when it comes to runway show, having used them in all three of his previous shows. He's known to call in the National Youth Theatre to devise intricate and compelling productions that blend fashion with theatre.
However, this time it was McKellen who reached out to the designer and discussed the idea of opening the show. "You don't say no to Ian McKellen," said Stokey-Daley told Vogue at a preview before the show. "To be honest, I couldn't really believe it."
Stokey-Daley has risen to fame quickly in the last few years, after Harry Styles' stylist Harry Lambert dressed the singer in all S.S. Daley for his 'Golden' video. He also won the LVMH Prize in 2022, a coveted award for promising young designers.
His latest collection was inspired by Kate Bush's song 'The Ninth Wave', which features tales of shipwrecks and sailors, with motifs like ducks, china dishes and male pin-ups throughout the show.
