CND™ & Charlotte Tilbury collaborate with Harris Reed for London Fashion Week showcase

CND™ and Charlotte Tilbury collaborated with British-American designer, Harris Reed, to create bold nail designs and vibrant make-up looks for his AW24 London Fashion Week showcase.

Renowned for creating gender fluid items that play with themes of masculinity and femininity, Reed describes his aesthetic as ‘Romanticism gone non-binary’, and items are hand-made but composed of affordable materials.

Of the autumn/winter 2024 fits, he comments: “The inspiration for the collection this season is Victoriana and paper dolls, with this idea that as a kid I would always cut and paste different silhouettes on top of my drawings, looking at puppets to build this imaginary world. We have used incredible fabrications that are all vintage wallpapers and have been beautifully embroidered.

“It is really about bringing fantasy to London, celebrating the artistry of dressing up and having a fabulous time.”

Reed called on nail brand, CND™, to create nail designs that featured depth and creativity to help bring his showcase to life. Led by nail artist, Simone Cummings, the nail team meticulously created 10 nail looks, embracing vibrant tones in a contrast to previous Harris Reed shows, which have featured simple, modern nail styles.

Simone shares: “This is the first show where the nails have incorporated colour, allowing each of the models and looks to be their own hero, embracing originality and uniqueness. Using CND™ has helped us to achieve this.”

Make-up looks came courtesy of Sofia Tilbury for Charlotte Tilbury, and complemented the nail styles by featuring iridescent shimmer on the eyes, sculpted blusher and plum lips.

“In creating the make-up look for this mesmerising show, we were inspired by Harris’ world of Victoriana and the playfulness of shadow and light,” Sofia comments. “At the heart of the look was the youthful innocence of paper dolls, captured in the wide, silver and gold eyes, doll-like lips and rosy, blushed cheeks.

“We wanted to create a dewy glow on the skin using Charlotte’s Magic Serum, Magic Water Cream and Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer, with generous application of blush blown upwards and outwards over the cheeks and temples. The colour needed to be bold and vibrant, so we used the drama of Charlotte’s K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick in Night Crimson, diffused delicately to create that dreamy balance.”

Bold splashes of silver and gold were added around the eyes, with MUAs using the Luxury Palettes in Queen of Glow, The Rock Chick and Uptown Girl to catch the light in the shadowy show space.

Sofia continues: “We wanted to create a make-up look that spoke to maximalist glamour – rich colours and opulent textures that would help embody the fantasy world Harris created with his extraordinary pieces.”