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Generation Z already has its
John Galliano.
Harris Reed
(1996), born in Los Angeles, based in London (he lives in the iconic Notting Hill neighborhood with his partner, Eitan Senerman), has all the necessary attributes to succeed in today's complicated world of fashion.
To his more than demonstrated genius and professional consistency, he adds the
careful cultivation of a public image
that takes advantage of a
distinctive physique
- soft and stylized -, his communion with
values
recognizable by his generation - especially that of gender fluidity -, his
bond with celebrities
(especially the actress
Florence Pugh,
his definitive muse) and the
exhibitionism
necessary to be significant almost daily on social networks.
Harris Reed is, without a doubt, the best Harris Reed model.
Since 2022 he has been creative director of the
Nina Ricci brand,
where he arrived after gaining notoriety, among other things, for dressing
Harry Styles
for the report that in 2020 would make the musician the first man to star on the
cover of 'Vogue'.
Both Styles and Reed share a 'genderless' idiosyncrasy, which made their association especially pertinent, fostered by the influential
Anna Wintour
(director of the magazine's American edition) and which has since continued to bear fruit.
Actress Florence Pugh, with a piece from Harris Reed's fall-winter 2023 collectionPHOTO: MARC HIBBERT/@ARTWORLD
To give an outlet to everything that
"non-binary romanticism",
in its own definition, has to say, in addition to collaborations with greats like
Dolce & Gabbana
- he dressed Iman for the
2021 Met Gala
- the couturier also has his own clothing brand, to which he reserves his most personal creative universe.
From this he has just presented a collection, titled Shadow Dance, which, like the highly praised one by
John Galliano
for
Maison Margiella,
finds its inspiration in the 19th century.
In the case of Reed's, in the
Victorian world,
shadow puppets and fairy tale beings.
The result, architecturally crafted evening dresses with a dramatic hourglass silhouette that once again demonstrate the ease with which their creator moves in the combination of volumes to achieve a mysterious and somewhat nostalgic sophistication.
Fluency as a philosophy
But Reed wants to go further than fashion.
Or, better yet, further 'with' fashion.
This is how he makes it clear in
'Fluid.
A Fashion Revolution'
(ed. Abrams, New York), a book that is a mixture of a
personal photo album
(we see it, for example, in 2006, a 10-year-old 'baby' with a long blonde wig, high boots and lipstick. reds),
fashion photos,
autobiography,
gallery of 'conquests' (their covers and their 'celebrities', from
Beyoncé
to
Emma Watson
or
Selena Gomez)
and
manifesto.
Because, as he promises from the title, this
song to fluidity
does not remain fashionable or exclusively personal.
It is approached from history, philosophy, sociology, psychology and even business.
The cover of 'FLUID.
A Fashion Revolution' by Harris Reed (Abrams, New York).
Dedicated "to all the bullied
queer
kids on the playground who dream of being heard, seen, and valued," the book argues that
fluidity
"is capable of moving, changing, and doing it smoothly,
with grace.
Gender
fluidity
is "inspired by these definitions. It refers to the change, over time, in a person's
gender expression
, their gender identity, or both at the same time."
"At its core," Reed clarifies, "flow is an exploration of who you are. This can be scary, like going into the darkness of your basement when you were a small child (...). But it
can also be very liberating. ".
Actress Emma Watson, wearing a recycled wedding dress over reworked old tuxedo pants, at the Earthshot Award ceremony.PHOTO: KARWAI TANG/WIRELM
Fluidity sells, but it is not unisex
In the fashion business, the designer explains, that fluidity is a rising value: "In 2019 more than half of Generation
Z
shopped outside the department of their sex. This led to a boom in
gender neutral
or
clothing unisex".
Reed's position, however, is very far from that
not only
reductionist,
but in some way castrating
approach
:
"
Fluency
is a way of being, of expressing oneself...
It is not unisex clothing."
On the contrary, hers is exuberant, striking,
devoted to the
most marked curve, and when she addresses men she abounds in motifs until now restricted to the female spectrum.
He is very clear about who he is addressing:
"My client
is someone who
wants to attract attention,
cause a stir, who wants to be unique, wear a 'demi-couture' dress and feel fabulous. An actor in his own right, crossing genres." and even the worlds." A pioneer. Like him, let's go.
"My hands with my jewelry collection with an H-shaped signet ring by Alessandro Michele from Gucci," describes Harris Reed himself. PHOTO: HARRIS REED
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