September 17, 2022 |
Harris Reed moves! After seasons of static presentations the designer staged his first moving catwalk show. Not for nothing has this young creative garnered a reputation as one of the most exciting fashion names of his generation. His gender fluid approach, commitment to spectacle and knack with celebrity dressing have given his little brand an outsize appeal which he has cleverly parlayed into lucrative collaborations.
Adam Lambert (yes, The Adam Lambert!) opened the show with an operatic medley of torch songs as the models paraded in stately fashion. There’s something ethereal about Reed’s glamour, despite (or maybe because of) the halo headwear, exaggerated shapes and church-like setting. His models look divine.
Reed was inspired by the rigorous codes of a debutante ball, but his slant on things is never straight. The drag balls of 1980s New York played a role. He talked about taking traditional feminine crinolines, corsets, headpieces and embellishments, and reimagining them for “a new fluid society.”
Reed exaggerated his fishtail silhouettes and upended crinoline ball gowns into theatrical constructions that framed the face of the wearer in a halo of duchesse satin. Alongside the mermaid silhouettes and seventies glam rock tailoring, Reed also explored swagged eighties party wear and layered necklaces of celestial-shaped costume jewellery, into a glittering evening top, (part of savvy Reed’s successful collaboration with Missoma). The designer finished with Lily McMenamy as a bride wearing a huge white halo headpiece and a ballerina skirted gown.
For all their sculptural drama, There’s nothing aggressive or jutting about Reed’s looks, which are enhanced by the headpieces The designer creates with his longtime collaborator Vivienne Lake. They cut through the uncertainty and anxiety of the times with pure, visual spectacle.
Photography by Marc Hibbert.
