To celebrate this year’s Innovators programme, our annual initiative championing emerging designers and providing crucial support and mentoring, we bring you a series of exclusive conversations. All 14 Innovators were paired with an established designer to discuss, over Zoom and email, what it means to work in fashion today and the synergies between their creative practices.

British-American designer Harris Reed embodies what it means to be an Innovator: at just 25 years old, he is striving for a more inclusive and accepting world through his work and social media platforms. It was while Reed was studying at Central Saint Martins that stylist Harry Lambert discovered his theatrical work on Instagram. Lambert introduced him to Harry Styles, who went on to wear a bespoke suit/dress by Harris Reed in US Vogue. That was just the beginning: he has since collaborated with London label Missoma on a line of darkly romantic jewellery and, most recently, made his Met Gala debut alongside supermodel Iman, who he dressed in a bespoke, feather-embellished gold look for the occasion.

Reed is a self-confessed rulebreaker; a character trait which resonates with Etro’s creative director Veronica Etro. The youngest child of Gerolamo Etro, who established the family-run Italian label back in 1968 as a textiles company, Veronica spent her childhood in the Etro archive. In 2000, she unveiled her first womenswear collection, and in recent years, Veronica has been keen to evolve the Etro aesthetic: see also the glam-rock, skin-tight costumes she created for Italian Eurovision 2021 winners Måneskin, of which Reed is also a fan.

In their conversation for MATCHESFASHION, the pair find common ground in their mindful, forward-thinking approach to design and their opinion that fashion is an art form.

SHOP ETRO

‘I think the years of tokenism, of using a model of colour or a gay queer person just to use them is over now. It’s really about: if you’re going to work with someone with a diverse background, understanding their story, who they are, what they bring to the brand.’

Harris Reed

SHOP HARRIS REED

‘The Paisley design – sometimes it can be quite aristocratic and traditional, but at the same time it can be very psychedelic and very pop rock. I like to play with the surprises.’

Veronica Etro

SHOP ETRO

‘[Fashion and sustainability] are two words I never saw going together, and I think it has become this fashionable thing to talk about, but I think as long as we’re being mindful and trying to work that into our work, then I think it’s quite an exciting future we have ahead.’

Harris Reed

SHOP HARRIS REED

‘I think fashion is surely part of art. When I work even with prints, for me each season it’s like having a blank canvas because you must decide which proportions, techniques, colour combinations, subjects.’

Veronica Etro

SHOP ETRO

PHOTOGRAPHY TRISHA WARD, HO HAI TRAN. IMAGES COURTESY OF HARRIS REED AND ETRO.