Meet London's own fresh prince of preppy style

Move over Ralph Lauren — designer Daniel Fletcher is riding the Ivy League wave with his transformation of Chinese label Mithridate

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Fetch the ironing board! The persistence of the Ivy League-cum-Sloane Ranger wardrobe renaissance has been a shocka trend that first seriously cropped up on the catwalks at the beginning of last year, but which continues to race ahead as we move from spring into (a rah) summer. Anyone after proof of this need only walk down the high street and glance into John Lewis or Uniqlo, where the men's and women's sections both currently both resemble Harrow's changing rooms, or flick on the telly to see the Chanel-sponsored Boat Race.

America has long had its polo shirt, chino and quarter-zip overlords in Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren now London is catching up. Enter our very own fresh prince of preppy style, Daniel Fletcher, who is riding its wave.

I find him, dark hair coiffed upwards and sporting an on-brand uniform of white horseshoe jeans, black boots and an ironed, pale blue shirt from Loewe, reclined on a creamy, asymmetric sofa in his bright new studio, a stone's throw from The Shard.

The 34-year-old designer is well known in the industry. A Central Saint Martins graduate, he began his own menswear label, Daniel w Fletcher, in 2015, was the menswear director of Italian label Fiorucci between 2019 and 2023, and appeared on Netflix contest Next in Fashion in 2020. Last summer, he made headlines with his appointment as the creative director for Royal Ascot, urging people to be more daring - within the dress code, of course.

The rails of clothes that surround us today, although typically Fletcher in design - blue and white striped, cotton Oxford shirts, red and navy silk ties, jersey rugby pullovers and cotton boxer shorts - bear a different label: Chinese brand Mithridate.