In Full Bloom
Erdem Moralioglu has managed the remarkable feat of giving Old World romanticism a 21st-century spin. Here, he talks the power of storytelling and learning from the beauty of flowers. By Gerald Tan
Narratives work as a catalyst for him.
“For me, as a designer, a narrative is something that allows me to start creating, whether or not you are going to read the story when it is hanging on a rail. I think it’s fascinating, taking someone somewhere for eight minutes during a show. It’s a wonderful privilege. It’s a great power of fashion that is often dismissed. Fashion has always been considered as light and without any meaning or soul to it, but I think fashion can convey so many things.”
The story for his spring/summer 2019 collection began with a house.
“I recently bought a house in Bloomsbury, London, where I discovered this plaque dedicated to two sisters who lived around the corner in 1860.They were later discovered to be men. It sparked the idea of gender,Victorian conservatism, and the idea of what would happen if someone like the two sisters lived today? The house is also close to King’s Cross, where you could find plenty of clubs and warehouse parties in the ’80s and ’90s. I then thought of doing these oddVictorian textiles in strange neon colours.”
He balances echoes of the past with a deft contemporary hand.
“It’s applying historical research in a modern way. I’m really interested in that line and playing with that kind of tension.When it works, it’s something that feels almost confusing, but I find that mix very interesting. I like the idea of modernity being injected into clothes. At the same time, I also love the idea of creating a piece that someone can buy and wear in 20 years.”
Flowers represent his interest in the codes of femininity.
“There’s something really wonderful about flowers.They can be dark, poisonous, melancholic and joyful. I’m really interested in the codes of femininity.What are the things that insinuate the feminine? I think that fixation came in the very beginning when I first started my work. I would design a dress, and I wouldn’t necessarily be able to find a fabric that I wanted to make it in, so it was about developing the textiles in the studio. I love textiles and they are an important part of my design process.”
He thinks modern fashion is strange.
“I think the current mood is saturation.The idea of speed, how we look at things on our screens, how people vocalise their opinions… I think the idea of criticism has changed. Fashion critique was always something you could read on the international magazines, or you would wake up the next day and see a review online. Now, it’s immediate. People react to things on Instagram instantly. It seems like there’s so much noise and so much to see. I’m really trying to focus on creating a collection and pieces that people can invest in, keep and wear in their own ways years down the road.” ■