Fluid: A Fashion Revolution

by Harris Reed, Josh Young (Contributor)

Influential designer Harris Reed explores the world of gender-defying fashion in this richly illustrated monograph.

In Fluid , revolutionary fashion designer Harris Reed introduces the world to a new era in fluid fashion. At the center of Reed’s sartorial journey has always been his desire to change the way people express their identities through clothing. Fluidity’s essence is adaptable, evolutionary, and dynamic, and Reed’s work constantly disrupts the divide between men’s and women’s clothing.

Reed’s pieces have been worn by Harry Styles, Adele, Sam Smith, Iman, and Beyoncé, and with each piece, he has generated an instantly iconic cultural moment, pushing conversations about gender expression into the mainstream. Fluid examines historical antecedents of fluidity, questions old power structures, and urges people to find their authentic selves in this new avenue of fashion.

With stunning color photography, resplendent fashion, and illustrations of Harris’s design process, Fluid takes readers beyond the idea of clothes as mere garments, positing that clothes are a nexus of art, philosophy, and history that can be used to help shape our culture and challenge understandings of gender. With this book, Reed affirms that fluid is the future of fashion.

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, Photography

240 pages, Hardcover

Published January 16, 2024

Reviews

[Shana]

An excellent spread of Harris Reed’s iconic looks and splendidly elegant silhouettes (especially the dramatic hats!), with an honest, self-reflective discussion on how his fluid fashion journey began by having to defend his femme clothing choices ever since he was nine years old and wearing a pink Lacoste shirt in a conservative small town. And ever since he dressed Harry Styles on the cover of Vogue with a tailored suit and hoop-skirt dress (the first man to ever appear on the cover, back in December 2020), Reed’s career in expressing fluidity through fashion has flourished. Reed shares several artboards and initial sketches with historical references (including fuschia-loving lords), a welcome behind-the-scenes insight into key looks such as Iman’s Dolce & Gabbana x Harris Reed 2021 Met Gala gown (gold with feathery hoop skirts and enlarged crown, inspired by NY ballroom culture and Romanticism along with queenliness, worn by Iman, one of the first models of color). One look I particularly appreciate is the signature slender, high-padded black suit than transitions into a fishtail flare of fiery ombré tulle, which could be worn by anyone — Reed emphasizes fluidity is for everyone, and I am excited to see his future work as the creative director for Nina Ricci.

“As much as I talk about de-gendering, fluid fashion does come from blending menswear and women’s wear to create colors, textures, patterns, and layers that deconstruct the very binary the clothes began in. To that point, real gender-fluid fashion isn’t really about fashion at all, but about the ways we observe the world through the prism of clothing and represent ourselves as a canvas for curiosity, empathy, and optimism. If nothing more and nothing less, that’s fluidity.”

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harris Reed has an impressive career for someone so young and the book does a good job of conveying his ideas and philosophies about fashion.

He stumbles a little talking about gender identity and most of his designs are about reducing masculinity, increasing femininity, but the designs are intricate, innovative, and look amazing. The pictures transfer well into ebook format.

I read the book without knowing anything about the author, but having seen some of his designs.

Overall, worth the time. Also offers a unique perspective on the pandemic.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only knew a little bit about Harris Reed before picking this beautiful book up, and am now even more of a fan that when I was first introduced to his gorgeous gender-fluid looks. I love his emphasis on sustainability and the deep respect and admiration he shows for his team, his models, and those who have helped pave the way for the genderfluid revolution.

[Caroline Harbour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful photos, and Harris Reed is undoubtedly a very talented designer, but I found this book very surface level. The chapters retread the same ground over and over, make it sound as if most of Reed’s career success has more or less fallen in his lap (though I’m sure that’s not true) and ends up sounding more like an advertisement than any kind of memoir.

[Fiore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, both for the looks Reed puts together and for the careful way he exams what he wants to bring to the world through challenging what people believe they can or should wear.

[Vania EM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fluid fashion revolution indeed.

[Rich Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book about gender fluidity and fashion. Honestly the most interesting parts where when he discussed his own fluidity and how he used fashion to explore that personally.

[Cat Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arguably, fluidity of gender and fashion date well back in history but it is a rarity for a designer and a creative director to run two brands simultaneously by 26, and to attend the Met Gala, dress Harry Styles, Nicki Minaj and Adele. In Fluid, we appreciate the enormous commitment Harris has to style as a form of expression, adventure and armour. Bullied at his Arizona school for his makeup, effeminate fashion choices and unmissable height and hair, his mother returns the family to Los Angeles. But it is London, where he moves to study at the renowned Central Saint Martin’s, that beckons Harris home. Fluid is neither a memoir nor an educational tool, but it borrows generously from both genres. Largely, Harris has built his fashion brand and his career on a candid and unapologetic celebration of his own gender fluid identity, so his book does not skip over the obstacles and prejudices he’s confronted as a child and an adult. Many fashion types want us to believe they arrived at fame and success fully-formed. Harris breaks the myth, and admits he is where he is and who he is because of having to defend himself from a young age from the aggression and labels forced upon him. This book is generous, truthful and honest. It is also utterly beautiful to look at with sumptuous fashion editorial photos, portraits and a heft to its coffee book design that arrives with a confident thunk. It is a book that young fashion enthusiasts may find enormous solace in, and one that fashion risk takers will adore for its insights into design, celebrities and glamour. Harris told me he’d intended on writing a book when he was 50, maybe, and initially thought it was too early in his life for this. It’s not. This is a memoir of finding his footing in fashion, firmly laying his foundation at a legendary fashion house in Paris, and proving that no amount of criticism can stop someone who is passionate, talented and persistent. Newly married and about to move into his first home in London, this is Harris Reed’s era. Read all about it.