Florence Pugh Stuns on the Harris Reed Runway at London Fashion Week
At the designer's Fall/Winter 2025 show, celebrity casting added a powerful and "haunting" element, among the meticulously crafted garments.
Harris Reed's fashion shows are always a true experience, between the garments coming down the catwalk to the buzzy names sitting front row. Thursday night was no different: the Central Saint Martins alum revealed his usual dramatic and strong silhouettes, and he had a surprise for guests, too. His muse, friend, and actor Florence Pugh opened the show wearing a sculptural gown.
This isn't Pugh's first time on a Harris Reed runway. She recited a monologue inspired by Shakespeare to open the Fall/Winter 2023 show, which went viral at the time in fashion circles. The actor—most known for her roles in Lady Macbeth (2016), Midsommar (2019), Don't Worry Darling (2022)—opened the Fall/Winter 2025 show during London Fashion Week with a different style of performance. Reed told Vogue he wanted it to be "haunting."
Wrapped in a black hooded dress, between structured corsetry and transparent veils, Pugh performed, accompanied by the sound of cellos on the notes of Metallica songs. The actor's look recalled a contemporary gothic imagery. Her wispy lashes added to the drama of the entire ensemble. The eerie nature of her look was meant to represent Reed's feelings on the state of the world.
"With a lot of turmoil and the state of where the world is, it’s a very hard time," he said. "So I really was kind of looking at this idea of punk and rebellion." 
The collection features structured elements and punk references, drawing inspiration from his previous work and maintaining a strong connection with the experimental tradition of Central Saint Martins. The dress worn by Pugh, with rhinestone decorations and an architectural silhouette, represents this aesthetic imagery well. Pugh as the face of yet another collection is not accidental, and it makes perfect sense. The actor, who has long been associated with Reed's creations, embodies an idea of fashion that is not limited to aesthetics, but becomes a means of personal expression. In this context, the artistic relationship between the two takes on a broader dimension, reflecting a dialogue between fashion, art, and complex identity.
