SOCIETY’S NEW ( VERY CHINTZY) FAVOURITE DESIGNER
Erdem is the royals’ fashion darling but, gosh, his floral frocks can go very wrong ...
OVERBLOWN, romantic and with a more than a hint of chintzy curtains about them, there’s no doubt British designer of the moment Erdem Moralioglu’s flower-print dresses divide opinion.
The 42-year-old is, thanks to his confident colour choices and fearless approach to pattern, a ‘Marmite’ designer — people tend to either love or detest his work, with no room for ambivalence.
His latest piece, as seen on the Duchess of Cambridge, was a blue £2,690 devore velvet number (the pattern created by burning away areas of fabric using acid) that made it hard to tell where the dress started and the floral carpet ended. But when he gets it right, the dresses dazzle — take the shorter, £1,288 flowery frock Princess Eugenie wore for her engagement announcement, which made her look stylish and enhanced her figure.
Erdem is now a favourite of the red carpet (once dominated only by French designers) and has dressed stars including Lily James, Jessica Chastain and Gillian Anderson.
In just over a decade, he’s conquered high society dressing. The royals are particular fans, as is former Vogue editor Alexandra
Shulman, Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet and Sam Cam (left, with Erdem).
His brand, owned solely by him, reportedly boasts an annual turnover of £13 million.
Sources now say he’s far and away the favourite to make Meghan Markle’s wedding dress — and would be a diplomatic choice, as he was born to a Midlands housewife mother and Turkish engineer father and first studied his craft in Toronto (where Meghan was based to film Suits).
He’s based in trendy East London now, with a reputation for utter discretion, designs traditional enough not to scare away the royals and a roomy studio that has the space to deal with a royal bride.
So why has he been so successful? One answer is that the fashion industry — dominated by minimalist designs and masculine shapes for the past few years — was missing a designer who revelled in making women look feminine yet professional, even powerful.
Not interested in following trends as such, he says he only wants to make women look beautiful. ‘I never think about what’s sexy,’ he told Australian Vogue. ‘I don’t agonise over whether her bum will look big . . . I focus on the silhouettes and the proportions and hope that takes care of everything.’
But while the majority of his designs have been praised by critics, even one of fashion’s darlings can’t always get it right — and when you’re making a bold statement with vivid prints and eye-catching patterns, the fall from grace is somehow more extreme.
So, who is the man behind fashion’s new romantic movement, deftly draping and cutting delicate and tactile cloth to create feisty, feminine shapes? A long-haired, arty type in frills and flounces, perhaps?
In fact, Erdem’s personal style couldn’t be more different from his own work. While the women who wear his clothes like to make an entrance, the man behind them takes a more pared- down approach to dressing: the humble designer has never sought the
limelight. Growing up in Montreal, his homesick mother surrounded herself with British treasures, so Erdem watched Brideshead Revisited and Room With A View, prizing a romantic view of Britain — references that are very clear in his chintzy designs.
Coming to the UK as a young adult, he learned his trade at London’s prestigious Royal College of Art and on internships at Vivienne Westwood and Diane von Furstenberg.
When he unveiled his debut collection 13 years ago, he won plaudits for his grownup style that took ethereal fabrics and Renaissance florals and made them appeal to savvy career women.
His talent was instantly recognised and saw a panel of influential judges — including Alexandra Shulman, Joan Burstein, the formidable founder of powerhouse boutique Browns, and designer Roland Mouret — award him the coveted Fashion Fringe prize at London Fashion Week, providing a cash injection for his fledgling business and a springboard to catapult him into the spotlight.
He lives with his architect boyfriend of 14 years, Philip Joseph, and his usual day, as described to Vogue, contains none of the flashy parties of other designers: he wakes at 6.30am for coffee, then returns to bed, Princess Margaret style, before a 7.30am calisthenics workout. He works through lunch and dines at 8pm, finishing the day reading in bed.
At the end of last year, he was the latest in a line of high-profile designers to collaborate with High Street chain H&M to create a collection with all the handwriting of his main designer line, but at prices that are a little more purse-friendly.
It sold out within hours and continues to resell at a premium on eBay.
Today, Erdem has made England his home and the base for his internationally acclaimed brand, which sells in more than 170 chic boutiques and department shops around the world, including a flagship store bearing his own name in London’s Mayfair.