Harris Reed Is Nina Ricci’s New Creative Director
Get ready for “magnified femininity” at Nina Ricci, brought to you by its new creative director Harris Reed.
The French fashion house, controlled by Spanish group Puig, has selected the buzzy British American talent to write its next chapter.
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Reed, 26, becomes the youngest designer to take the creative helm of Nina Ricci, founded in 1932, and the second to carry the torch for gender-fluid fashions.
Described by Ricci as “bold, daring and explosive,” the designer is expected to unveil his first Ricci collection early next year and “bring up new perspectives on the archives and lifelong craftsmanship of the house.”
Since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2020 Reed has quickly gained a reputation for decadent designs — and theatrical fashion happenings with elaborate sets and live performances by the likes of Sam Smith and Adam Lambert.
His sophisticated, larger-than-life outfits have been donned by the likes of Iman, Emma Watson, Harry Styles, Emma Corrin and Lil Nas X.
On Tuesday, Launchmetrics released data showing that the dramatic feathered Harris Reed look that Lil Nas X wore to the recent MTV VMAs generated $3.3 million in media impact value.
In a statement, London-based Reed said he is “honored” to join Nina Ricci “with its treasure chest full of glamour, history and power ready to be explored.
“I am truly excited to challenge the landscape of what femininity means across fashion and beauty in such an iconic house,” he added.
The Paris house has been without an artistic director following the exit last January of Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh, the design duo behind the Botter label. Winner of the 2022 ANDAM Fashion Award, Botter is known for gender-fluid clothing rooted in Caribbean culture.
It’s now all change at Nina Ricci, which earlier this year welcomed a new general director, too.
WWD was the first to report on May 16 that Edwin Bodson, previously global commercial director at JW Anderson in London, was joining the fashion and beauty brand. Bodson succeeded Charlotte Tasset, who exited Nina Ricci a year ago.
“As a gender-fluid designer rejecting norms in a quest for freedom, Harris’ singular vision of magnified femininity will span across Nina Ricci,” Bodson commented.
Famous mostly for its fragrances. Nina Ricci has seen an array of fashion designers come and go in recent years, including Guillaume Henry, Peter Copping, Nathalie Gervais, Massimo Giussani, James Aguiar, Lars Nilsson and Olivier Theyskens.
The house said it “cherishes the freedom to invite talented voices to co-create ‘l’air du temps’ — the French term for “the spirit of the times” — and also the name of Nina Ricci’s most famous and iconic fragrance, its swirled bottle topped with two doves.
