Gender binary breaking, die hard romantic designer Harris Reed has been announced as the new creative director of Nina Ricci and is set to debut his first show for the brand in 2023.
The historic and glamorous house, known for both its fashion and fragrance, says it is “thrilled” about the appointment of Reed, and it seems he feels about the same. “I am honoured to be joining the house of Nina Ricci, with its treasure chest full of glamour, history and power ready to be explored,” Reed said in a statement.
“I am truly excited to challenge the landscape of what femininity means across fashion and beauty in such an iconic house.”
On his Instagram, he added: “I am honoured and humbled to announce my appointment as the new creative director of the House of Nina Ricci across fashion and, following, fragrance. To be a 6’4” (without heels), red-headed, long haired fluid designer (who everyone thinks is a fabulous woman) who is unapologetically myself entering a brand I could have only ever dreamed of in Paris just leaves me full of excitement and love.
“I’m truly speechless… I have dreamed of this moment for so long, from the time I was a small child, through working my fingers to the bone at CSM, to now. This feels like something out of a movie, a storyline I might sit down and watch at the cinema. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking these fantasies that felt so silver screen to me and turning them into a reality.”
Reed, who identifies as gender fluid but uses pronouns he/him, has been on the up since he graduated Central Saint Martins in 2020, by which point he had already caught the eye of Harry Styles and Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele.
You may have noticed his work in Styles’ music video for Lights Up, where the singer can be spotted wearing a sleeveless blue silk moire suit with flared trousers.
Or maybe you’ve spotted his designers being worn by... Lil Nas X, Emma Watson, Miley Cyrus, Emma Corrin, Selena Gomez, Sam Smith, Olly Alexander... the list goes on.
Nina Ricci seems a natural fit for Reed, with its history of romanticism and feminine, lingerie-like garments. General Director of both fashion and fragrances at Nina Ricci, Edwin Bodson, has said of the appointment: “I am thrilled to be part of this new era and to welcome Harris as the new creative director of Nina Ricci.
“As a gender-fluid designer rejecting norms in a quest for freedom, Harris's singular vision of magnified femininity will span across Nina Ricci.”
Reed is just 26 years old, but it isn’t the first time this year that a heritage brand has put bids on a young name to revitalise its image. In March, Italian luxury brand Ferragamo appointed fellow 26-year-old designer Maximilian Davis as its new creative director.
According to Vogue Business, Reed’s focus will be less centred around ready to wear — an area many Nina Ricci predecessors attempted to build — and instead will be more about raising the ante of the fragrance powerhouse. The brand is known for iconic fragrances such as L’Air du Temps and Les Belles de Nina.
Reed has experience in fragrance, having launched his own home fragrance and represented Gucci’s gender neutral perfume, Mémoire d’une Odeur.
