Nina Ricci taps gender-fluid designer Harris Reed as new creative director

Iconic French fashion house Nina Ricci has named 26-year old American-British fashion designer Harris Reed as its new creative director.

“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,” said Reed, who is now the youngest creative director in the label’s 90-year history.

The Central Saint Martins-educated designer has made a name for himself on the international fashion stage thanks to his gender-fluid designs that “blur the preconceived fault-lines people have about gender and sexuality”.

Commenting on the news on his Instagram page, Harris said he was “honoured and humbled” by the appointment.

“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,” he said. “I’m truly speechless.”

‘Dream come true’

Harris said he had dreamed about this moment since he was “a small child”.

“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,” he said.

Nina Ricci founded her eponymous label in Paris in 1932 alongside her son Robert.

The fashion house said it was “thrilled” with the appointment of Harris, whose “bold, daring” and “explosive” style will “bring up new perspectives on the archives and life-long craftsmanship of the house”.

In the same announcement, the Parisian label named Edwin Bodson as its new general manager. Bodson commented: “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' singular vision of magnified femininity will span across Nina Ricci.”

Harris’ first fashion collection for Nina Ricci will be revealed in early 2023.