Harris Reed&rsquo;s signature textures and undeniable romance feel like home, thanks to a collaboration with English wallpaper studio Fromental. Plus, the British-American fashion designer hints interiors could be next for his label.

"I think history is everything," <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/who-is-harris-reed-british-designer-nina-ricci-harry-styles">Harris Reed</a> tells me, the lilt of his accent, a British-American m&eacute;lange, curling around the words. "You learn the most from looking back."
It is mere days after his Spring/Summer 2025 presentation&mdash;a paean to the world of lost textiles, with structural gowns made from vintage haberdashery fabrics to 200-year-old Point de Venise lace tablecloths. I&rsquo;ve caught him in the flux period; he&rsquo;s about to go do it all again at Paris Fashion Week. Any other designer would be out of puff, but Reed is alacritous, brisk, full of life. The 28-year-old, a 2020 graduate of Central <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/birkenstock-central-saint-martins-collab">Saint Martins</a>, has a r&eacute;sum&eacute; many designers dream of, built within just four years: well-received collections, made notable by his fastidious, capital R-romantic taste; a first-ever client in <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/harry-styles-best-fashion-moments-albums-songs-music">Harry Styles</a>, whom he dressed in an internet-breaking gown for Vogue; and, as of 2022, an appointment to creative director at Nina Ricci. For a young designer moving rollercoaster-fast, looking to the past is not just a way to slow it all down&mdash;it&rsquo;s a way to build an unshakeable foundation.&nbsp;

Harris Reed Autumn/Winter 2024, photos by Marc Hibbert

That foundation takes root in Reed&rsquo;s longstanding partnership with Fromental, a hand-painted and hand-embroidered wallcovering atelier based in <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/best-looks-from-london-fashion-week-runway-images">London</a>. Led by husband-and-wife team Tim Butcher and Lizzie Deshayes, the studio shares a kindred brand philosophy with Reed&rsquo;s. Here are meticulously crafted silk wallcoverings, including fluid and flowering chinoiserie; replicated travertine, glossed by iridescent metallic paints in gestural motion; and distinctly English bucolic landscapes, painted in the style of 19th-century plein air prints, among countless others. Fromental, too, nods to the past. For their 2022 collaboration with interior design enterprise Rinck, Butcher and Deshayes carefully wafted through the archives of Le Mobilier National&mdash;the French government&rsquo;s archive of furniture and textiles&mdash;to find upholstery patterns from 20th-century objects. &ldquo;At Fromental, we strive to create pieces that are not just visually striking, but that resonate on a deeper level, evoking a sense of wonder and connection,&rdquo; Butcher says.&nbsp;
The partnership materialized after Reed sought out Fromental&rsquo;s work for his London home. Butcher called their first meeting an &ldquo;alchemical reaction,&rdquo; with common ground found in their mutual love for rare textiles, archival textures, and chintzy prints. Everything fell into perfect order&mdash;Fromental collaborated with Reed on his Fall/Winter 2024 collection, &ldquo;Shadow Dance,&rdquo; repurposing opulent Victorian silk wallpapers as fabrics, and, in May, embroidered an archived peony design for <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/demi-moore-young-photos-80s-90s">Demi Moore&rsquo;s</a> flowerbomb <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/met-gala-2024-red-carpet-celebrity-looks-fashion">Met Gala</a> look.

Harris Reed and models at the Spring/Summer 2025 show in London, photo by Jason Lloyd-Evans

"We strive to create pieces that are not just visually striking, but that resonate on a deeper level."

&ldquo;Taking wallpaper really worked well with our design process,&rdquo; Reed says. &ldquo;The team was very worried knowing the fragility, and knowing some of it had hundreds of hours of hand embroidery and hand painting that was going to be quite difficult to work with. But as someone who likes to work with massive silhouettes and to push the boundaries of how clothing can be worn, I was looking at the clothing more like a Henry Moore sculpture, something that's much more sculptural. The wallpaper was incredible because it allowed me to wrap it around the body, manipulate it, use it, and make it more sculptural. A lot of times with my fabrics, I have to fuse canvas and horsehair to allow it to have structure. The great thing about the wallpaper is it had that rigidity and that stiffness to really allow the sculptures and pieces to come together. So they really kind of brought one another to life.&rdquo;
According to Reed, the partnership is a testament to the &ldquo;ethereal and the material,&rdquo; and what we might glean from looking to the past. Reed tells me that his design process stems from tactile experience; the collaboration&rsquo;s creative emphasis was based on deadstock, esoteric materials. &ldquo;It really was whatever we found,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I knew we wanted to play with color. I knew I wanted to play with texture. I was really drawn to the heavily embroidered pieces, the nature scapes, things that had birds and animals. We can use old wallpaper and give it this new life, and Fromental really allowed us to do that.&rdquo;

Demi Moore wearing Harris Reed at the 2024 Met Gala, photo by John Shearer, Getty Images

The Harris Reed modus operandi&mdash;maximalism, romance, theatricality, fluidity&mdash;is perfectly squared against Fromental&rsquo;s delicate, ornate work on such massive canvases. &ldquo;The collaboration reflects a commitment to craftsmanship, attention to detail, and a deep respect for the materials we work with. It also embodies the idea that true creativity often comes from the meeting of different minds and disciplines,&rdquo; Butcher says.
Butcher and Deshayes&rsquo;s shared experience in fashion and textiles&mdash;the pair have backgrounds in creating hand-painted fabrics for designers and couturiers like <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/oscar-de-la-renta-wedding-dress-bridal-fashion-kennedy-clinton">Oscar de la Renta</a>, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/matthew-williamson-designed-a-dreamy-hotel-suite-in-mallorca">Matthew Williamson</a>, Christina Kim, and Gilles Mendel&mdash;are on full display. &ldquo;Our initial journey and vision for wallpapers was profoundly influenced by fashion. To marry the discipline of fashion with the expansiveness of interiors, creating something that is both intimate and grand,&rdquo; Butcher says. &ldquo;Fabric and papers share a common language of texture, pattern, and color. To come full circle and bring 20 years of our experimentation into the collection was a celebration and a homecoming.&rdquo;

Harris Reed Autumn/Winter 2024, photo by Jason Lloyd-Evans

In September, Reed and Fromental collaborated once again on his Spring/Summer 2025 collection, with scraps of hand-painted silk wallpaper poxing the garments&rsquo; exaggerated outer edges. There is a clear throughline between the wallcovering collaboration and Reed&rsquo;s personal fabrications: a desire not to neglect history, nor repeat it, but instead to allow forgotten stories a second retelling. &ldquo;When you play with history and you respect history, but you make it your own, something really special comes along. That's the most creative and the most innovative thing of all,&rdquo; Reed says. &ldquo;It reflects the fact that we're a business founded around sustainability, fluidity, and extravagance. Being able to give second life to show that sustainability can be beautiful, sought after, [and] Met Gala&ndash;worthy was so incredible to me. The time and love and effort and thought and process Fromental puts into their wallpapers is completely aligned with what we put into our pieces. To put both of them together is just so special.&rdquo;
I ask Reed what&rsquo;s on the horizon&mdash;perhaps a foray into the world of interior design? &ldquo;We've had incredibly exciting offers come to the table,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And for me, I think interiors is a massive part of how I see growing the Harris Reed brand. We are not just building clothing; we're building a world. For me, this was an incredible step forward. And, you know, I think it's just the beginning.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Harris Reed Transforms Victorian Wallpaper Into Fashion in Latest Collaboration

Tags

Related Articles

Fashion

Who Is Harris Reed?

Fashion

Gender-Fluid Designer Harris Reed's Fashion Diary

Fashion

Etro and Harris Reed Launch Genderless (and Colorful) Capsule Collection

Recommended posts for you

Fashion

Mariah Carey Signs off for the Holidays With Chic Aspen Look

Pop culture

How the Royals Are Spending Christmas 2024

Fashion

The 28 Best Dressed Actors and Musicians of 2024

Fashion

See the Most Iconic, Unforgettable Runway Shows From 2024

Fashion

Calvin Klein Reveals Details on Its 2025 Return to New York Fashion Week

Fashion

How to Channel Dua Lipa's NYE Style? 7 Celebrity-Inspired Party Outfits

Shopping

19 Chocolate Brown Accessories You'll Want to Keep Forever

Travel & Living

The 'Mastery and Risk' in Making Vintage Champagne, According to Dom Pérignon