This was Harris Reed’s most down to earth collection to date—literally. As the designer admitted during a preview, today was the first time in years he didn’t ask any of his models to walk on 18-centimeter platforms.
Skyscraper shoes weren’t the only thing missing though. Bar the creamy gold jacket in hand painted duchess satin that kicked off today’s salon-style presentation, a sequined corset that appeared halfway through and the finale’s bridal gown with the exposed crinoline, every other garment in this collection was white. “I have been looking back to the past 11 seasons of this brand and came up with this almost ghostly interpretation. It’s meant to be almost a phantom collection,” he says.
Reed is in a transitional phase. From 2022 to this last spring, the designer had been dividing his time between London and Paris, stewarding his eponymous brand as well as the house of Nina Ricci. And while some may have expected his departure from Nina Ricci to feel like a loss, he made the best of it by minding his business.
“I usually start collections with this big inspiration point like: ‘I started by looking at the Victorian this and that.’ And I will always have those references. But this time I was really just looking at like, ‘Who is our customer?’” From the pre-show cocktails (dirty martinis), to the format (salon-style) and the location (The Mandarin Oriental Ballroom in Knightsbridge), everything about today’s show was about Reed’s VIC, who he says is international but owns property in London. Some time in the next few months, Reed will also be opening a salon in London to serve them even better.
Reed’s signature caging was still there tonight but it felt just that: a character in the designer’s design alphabet, as opposed to the entire story of certain seasons past. The spotlight this time belonged to the materials; there were hand-painted animal prints and flowers on organza, double duchesse satin and silk brocade, cut into panels and patchworked together into incredibly fine skirts and trousers.
Transitions are never easy but as the cliché goes, if you don’t let them drag you down, they might even help you take flight. Reed could be on the precipice of that.