Look what a year in Paris can do for a designer. On the eve of London Fashion Week, Harris Reed showed his most polished collection yet pouring all the finesse (and perhaps some of the investment) picked up during his twelve months at Nina Ricci into his namesake collection. His early collections might have relied heavily on the glue gun to hold together his fantastical silhouettes, but now Reed demonstrated his understanding of couture techniques with silk damask panniered corset jackets, gowns with sensually padded heart-shaped hips jackets with soaring picture collars and his trademark mermaid dress rendered in a veil of sheer fabric. He’s always been a great showman, using music and casting to craft catwalk presentations which pack an emotional punch. This time a live string quartet played in the atrium of Tate Britain with energy and urgency, as his muses strode by, each perched atop the towering platform boots that have become a Reed signature. With red carpet dressing becoming more experimental, expressive and adventurous, Reed has hit his sweet spot.

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