Harris Reed Just Showed His Best Collection Yet At London Fashion Week

It's difficult to believe that Harris Reed is still at the beginning of his career as a designer. In fact, he only graduated from Central Saint Martins (CSM) in 2020 but, in the last year, has dressed Iman for the Met Gala, Adele for her latest music video, Emma Corrin for the Brits and Emma Watson for the Earthshot Prize. He launched a sell-out collection of jewellery with Missoma and won his first Fashion Award in December. And yesterday, he unveiled his most ambitious – and impressive – collection yet.

As the very first designer on the schedule, Reed provided an ethereal, romantic kind of kick-off carnival for London Fashion Week. Entitled 60 Years A Queen, the collection was named after a book of the same name, written by Sir Herbert Maxwell on the reign of Queen Victoria.

Reed has been thinking about this for some time now. Having first discovered the book during his studies at CSM, he looked to explore the sartorial parallels between the British monarchy and the club-kid scene. His new demi-couture offering therefore came in sumptuous jewel tones, with glorious silk taffeta bows, lace tailoring and Reed's own take on ceremonial crowns.

It was a wardrobe fit for any monarch, filtered through a queer lens that's looking to illuminate the fluid nature of gender and identity. Having worked with Oxfam for his collection last September, upcycling wedding dresses into spectacular creations, this season Reed was offered 100-year old upholstery fabrics by the Bussandri family after a chance meeting in Italy. He also used some sequins, which are deadstock Reed sourced from a London-based supplier.

Of course, Reed's signature hats are still prevalent, the result of his work with milliner Vivienne Lake, while the glam rock-inspired platform boots were made in collaboration with Roker.

The presentation was set to a live soundtrack from Sam Smith, who performed his own version of Desiree's Kissing You, to which the models slowly turned, twisted and no doubt revelled in their regality.

Afterwards, Reed posted one of the new looks on Instagram, writing that this is a 'collection of my deepest hopes and dreams.' How lucky we are to be able to share in such a reverie.