The British Fashion Council finally gave in and put Harris Reed on the official London Fashion Week schedule.
The British American designer doesn’t meet the council’s requirements of having stockists that carry his clothes.
“From the very beginning, I have always said that I’m going to own Harris Reed [the brand] and it’s 100 percent mine. I’m going into my fourth year now and it’s working,” said the designer in a preview interview.
Reed is setting out his own template and for some it may be confusing – there’s theatrics and extravagant gowns that don’t always seem wearable, this time 14 looks instead of the tightly edited 10.
“The more theatrical it is, the more people are buying the pieces – I know that’s not reality for the other London designers,” he said backstage at his show.
Theatre feels like home to Reed, who has caught the interiors bug while renovating his west London home with his husband.
Any old English damask curtains, headboards or Venetian tablecloths that can be found in his home could also be found in the collection. He sourced his treasures from Etsy, eBay and car boot sales across America and Europe.
His proportions were more voluptuous than ever with Marie Antoinette hips and wide lampshade skirts that would be fitting for any episode of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” considering the music was a classical rendition of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Reed toyed with shades of powder pink and turmeric yellow while still showing an array of black and white looks – sometimes both hues together that had touches to Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady.”
