“I am truly excited to challenge the landscape of what femininity means… in such an iconic house,” said a statement for Reed, who takes charge of haute couture and fragrances for the 90-year-old label.

He has been described as “Harry Styles’s Secret Fashion Weapon” by Vogue, having designed outfits for the singer since 2017, and becoming central to his gender-fluid image.

This included a suit and satin ball skirt combination for Styles’s Vogue cover story in 2020.

“I fight for the beauty of fluidity. I fight for a more opulent and accepting world. That is really important to me,” Reed told the magazine at the time.

A graduate of the Central Saint Martins college in London, Reed presented at London Fashion Week in 2021 – the first to officially remove distinctions between menswear and womenswear – and already has work in an exhibition at London’s V&A museum.

He becomes the youngest appointment at Nina Ricci since its founding in 1932, replacing Dutch duo Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh.

A first collection for the label is due from Reed in early 2023.