How Do Harris Reed’s Creations Challenge Fashion?
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His name resonates throughout the world of fashion and beyond, his vision astonishes, captivates, and questions. Harris Reed’s creations open conversations with their gender-fluid axis, establishing freedom of body and mind. Discover his colorful, XXL, spectacular fashion and the themes that fuel his demi-couture pieces.
Who is the designer Harris Reed?
At just 26 years old, the Anglo-American designer has already had a remarkable journey, and this is just the beginning. Driven by great ambitions and a desire to make an impact for a generation seeking representation, he who dreamed of running his own brand, becoming an artistic director, attending the MET Gala, and getting married, has already checked off these goals, just 3 years after graduating from the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London, and now aims for new creative horizons at Nina Ricci.
Although his parents, an artist mother and an Oscar-winning film producer father, opened certain doors for him, the young designer’s vision and talent allowed him to get noticed and respected in the industry, becoming the most trendy designer whom all actors and singers wish to be draped in with the theatricality of his XXL creations on the red carpet.
After a nomadic childhood in the United States, alongside his mother and sister, followed by a gap year in France, his arrival in London marked a turning point in his journey, both as a designer and as the person he has become today. Two intimately linked facets that have refined his creations into a style he describes as “Romanticism becoming non-binary.”
It was at the renowned Central Saint Martins that Harris Reed pursued a Bachelor’s degree, like many designers featured in the series Next in Fashion. By a stroke of luck, Henry Lambert, then stylist for Harry Styles at the time and present at the school’s White Show event, noticed Harris Reed’s creations, which included an oversized white hat. The designer was then commissioned by the stylist to create stage outfits for the singer’s 2018 tour, bringing his work into the spotlight.
Joining the house of Gucci for an internship, Harris Reed’s creations, his universe, and above all his androgynous profile and gender fluidity were noticed by the former whimsical creative director of the house, Alessandro Michele. Michele spotlighted him by featuring him in a perfume campaign and having him walk in the 2019 cruise collection show.
With his diploma in hand, Harris Reed’s creations earned him a residency at The Standard Hotel in London, where he developed his first collection, which opened the first gender-neutral Fashion Week in London.
Sharing his creations on social media, his influence grew, and he found himself designing outfits for big names from Solange Knowles to Olly Alexander. Without traditional runway shows, Harris Reed’s creations are presented through red carpets, including the iconic MET Gala, or through performances, events, and artist collaborations like with Sam Smith, Selena Gomez, and Camille Charrière.
In 2020, Anna Wintour called on him to design one of the outfits worn by Harry Styles during a Vogue shoot, a skirt that turned heads and sparked conversation. Harris Reed’s creations led him to pose for the cover of Harper’s Bazaar himself, before dressing Beyoncé for Vogue.
Winning numerous awards, featured in various magazines from the New York Times to Elle, his creations displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, collaborations with Lexus, Etro, and designing gender-neutral lines with MAC Cosmetics and Missoma… Harris Reed’s vision and creations have built his reputation, elevating him to lead the creative direction of a historic French house at just 26 years old.
Why do Harris Reed’s creations provoke questions?
If Harris Reed’s creations stand out, it’s for their message and the new vision of fashion they support, which aligns with the new expectations of Generation Z.
Having always known who he was and coming out at the age of 9, it was only upon arriving in London and mingling with the queer London community that he discovered the diversity of profiles and the concept of gender fluidity. A turning point that made him question and shape his personality by playing with his identity.
An ever-evolving journey that has fueled Harris Reed’s creations, which are an illustration of his mentality, his duality, and a form of escape. His fashion is, as he emphasizes, 50% design and 50% activism. What the designer seeks is not beauty, but the sharing of a message, opening discussions, and advancing mindsets.
His wish is to offer everyone inclusive fashion, a space where it is possible to feel good, confident, oneself, proud, without fear of judgment. Thus, his pieces are presented by people of any gender identity or sexual orientation.
This aspect of messaging is what created a turning point in Harris Reed’s creations, leading him towards success. After creating unremarkable pieces, both in menswear and womenswear, the designer made a creative shift, choosing to stop creating pieces as they “should be designed” and instead creating pieces like those he wore. In other words, clothes in which he felt good, highlighted, and confident.
Harris Reed’s creations resonate as much as his own personality, which inspires many people, who daily express their gratitude for the changes he is initiating.
How will Harris Reed’s creations transform Nina Ricci’s image?
By choosing the vision and creations of Harris Reed to succeed the Dutch duo Lisi Herrebrugh
