Here come Harris Reid’s brides. In the elaborate ballroom of Claridge’s Hotel, a quartet of them walked down the aisles draped in curtains of magenta, cerulean and sea foam. It was the debut of the London designer’s ‘Fluid Bridal’ range, which featured four silhouettes. Among them is Camille, a sheer, slender, bespoke bridal gown inspired by Red, created for Camille Charrier. A draped lace, halter shirt covered in crystals and flared pants referencing what the designer wore to her wedding. and the Debutante, which features a house codified, bubbly fishtail bottom. Reid’s clients enjoy showmanship and fantasy, mermaids more than any fixed gender.
Beyond wedding dresses, he sets out to uncover what really makes the most of it here. “Some people define ‘excessive’ as ‘too much’ or without intention. I use it as a tool for character building,” Reed said of the collection of 19 looks, her largest offering to date. “This season is as theatrical as we’ve always been, but I hope it has the potential to wear something else. We really want to affirm the world, the lifestyle. We’re finding ways to live in London while growing the business on our own terms.” The immediate launch of the interiors line is part of its brand building plan. “But we’re never going to be a ‘girl in jeans and T-shirt'” brand, she added.
Artificial sculptures that customers have lovingly recreated as lamps for their homes. Lindsey Wixon, for example, opened the show in a stunning fuchsia bow skirt. On the wearability front, it showcased newly developed silhouettes, a mélange of tiger prints, and a variety of décolletage and moiré textures. Tailoring has moved away from the Savile Row-style sets and ’70s looks he previously favored to include graceful panniers at the hips and open waist. Elsewhere, corsets were cut with face-hugging necklines and halo-like loops, and slivers of skin in caged rooms set against gold quilts, burnished cobalt blue velvet and pink jock cords. These pieces were as much about exaggeration as before, but they also had a new sense of release. An architectural jacquard bustier tipped with clean blue feathers might actually belong in your boot kits.
