Nina Ricci RTW Spring 2024
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For his debut as creative director of Nina Ricci last season, Harris Reed put it all out there. The London-based designer known for dressing Harry Styles and Florence Pugh landed in Paris in a crash of oversized hats, curvaceous models and impossibly long trains.
Having established a foothold in the French capital, he took a more composed approach to his second collection, offering a clearer idea of how a customer might be able to buy into his vision of ecstatic glamour.
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“With the first season I kind of did everything to the floor, really big shoes, really big hats, where this season I kind of found the breath within each look,” he said backstage before the show. “Nothing is too restrictive or tight.”
Buyers responded well to his first outing, with 125 stores now carrying the brand. Reed is soaking up the feedback: some regions like tailoring and longer lengths, others prefer to go short, so there was a little bit of both in this collection, though it still skewed heavily toward occasion wear.
Sinuous evening gowns in sparkling lace or holographic mesh had rows of black bows running down the sleeves, while his signature flared suits were stage-ready in materials like python-print and metallic mint leather. XXL bows were affixed to everything from a cute black baby-doll dress with jeweled straps to a watch-me zebra print evening gown.
Reed is no stranger to volume, but some of his showstoppers strayed into Schiaparelli territory, in particular the velvet bustier gowns with sweetheart necklines and billowing trains, like the one Ashley Graham wore to close the show. He hinted those looks were a taste of things to come on the beauty side at the label owned by Spanish fragrance and fashion giant Puig.
“Being a year into the brand is now when I get to really put my stamp on the fragrance side of the business, so I think instead of pulling from the past into the collection, I’m trying to start [defining] what the future looks like with this collection,” said Reed.
“The juice is done, the bottle is done. I’m very excited about it,” he said, leaning over to offer a whiff of the new scent. Reed’s Nina Ricci era is just getting started.
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Launch Gallery: Nina Ricci RTW Spring 2024
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