Erdem’s romantic heroines often look like they’ve stepped out of the pages of a 19th-century novel with their gorgeous toile de joy flowers and puff-sleeve empire waist dresses. The London-based designer’s singular work spans more than two decades in art exhibitions and fashion archives, including the world’s largest fashion collection at the V&A Museum of British Fine Arts and Design. And it couldn’t be more unlikely than Gen Z’s predilection for bras-as-tops and hip cutouts, which has infiltrated many other runways lately. But as the singularly named inventor sees it, that doesn’t mean he’s stuck in the past. Instead, it is only when we look back that we can understand the present.
Erdem’s Spring 2023 collection, shown in London today, is among the columns of the British Museum’s Greek Revival, of course, during a momentous period in British history. London Fashion Week coincides with a lie-in at Westminster Abbey for the late Queen Elizabeth II, which is expected to bring up to a million people to the UK capital, including hundreds of members of the royal family, heads of state and government. – To pay respects to the late emperor at his funeral tomorrow. All Monday shows and presentations have been canceled and some brands such as Burberry have opted to reschedule later in the month. But Erdem and most of his compatriots JW Anderson, Simon Rocha, Christopher Kane, Harris Reid, Chopova Lowena and Nancy Dojaka believe the show should be held this weekend in honor of the reigning monarch who has long dominated the British fashion industry. Talents with Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
The Queen’s life and times were often a reference point for Erdem; His Resort 2023 collection took cues from longtime florist Constance Spry’s arrangement for her 1953 coronation. “It’s a very sad time in London—Her Majesty the Queen has been an inspiration and I admire her work and her sense of service,” Erdem said. “The best way for the industry to support British designers is to attend the shows, shoot the collections and shop the collections. It’s a challenging time but it’s also brought a real sense of togetherness to London.”
More from Harper’s Bazaar
Spring 2023
Dedicating the collection to Queen’s memory, Erdem began the show with the epigraph, “Sorrow is the price we pay for love,” following the Queen’s famous condolence speech the day after the September 11 attacks. This season he looked back in history for his reference points, sending out a number of black pleated corset dresses featuring remnants of 18th-century embroidery and exploding Old Masters prints. While many looks refer to historic mourning gowns with black ribbons, black net veils, or cut-out details, the closing look—a corset dress with an optic white full skirt and flared train and a skirt covered in black couture netting and floral embroidered tulle—looks like a negative photo of the Queen’s coronation gown.
More broadly, Erdem was inspired this season by the Art Restoration, particularly when an 18th-century tapestry dress was restored with intricate tulle and a 15th-century oil painting based on a 17th-century painting. Itching. “My studio team and I spent a lot of time behind the scenes with conservators and restoration teams at the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Britain and the V&A,” he recalls. “I’ve been thinking about the need for justice required to bring an art back to life, some restorations can take up to twenty years to work on a piece. It’s about obsession and dedication, the way the line between rehab and residency blurs.
Spring 2023
The last words-obsession And Self determination— It doesn’t seem like Erdem’s own creative process, intellectual, deeply researched, recognized and always reaching for further understanding. The Montreal-raised designer, whose parents are British and Turkish, has championed diversity and inclusion long before these were industry buzzwords. He was the first designer to collaborate with stylist Ib Camara—before Virgil Abloh—and now works with Gabriela Carefa-Johnson.
Erdem also creates silhouettes with long skirts, sleeves and high necks, which appeal to the moderately fashionable clientele in the Middle East, which is not their only goal. Fans include Nicole Kidman, Michelle Dockery, Alexa Chung and Catherine, Princess of Wales – and many women around the world who don’t want to carry it all. “Fashion should always be inclusive,” says Erdem. “Why create something that only certain body types can wear? When something is well made, it should suit everyone. Last year, Erdem decided to stock the entire collection in sizes UK 6 to UK 22.”
“Ultimately, fashion has always been a mirror of what’s happening in the world,” Erdem said. In the year Nowhere was this more evident than in his Fall 2022 collection celebrating pioneering Weimar artists, shown in London three days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 21. Erdem’s show was the first, and one of the few, of a fashion season where Instagram feeds were a real amalgamation of rockets being thrown in Kiev and women and children fleeing fashion-business-as-usual in other European capitals – to seriously engage with the existential threat of tyranny. Erdem has ditched its signature florals for an almost entirely monochrome line-up. Sally Bowles-esque sweaters over midi skirts and lace skirts with reinforced elbow-length black gloves and a studded boa.
Fall 2022
“I saw a very powerful exhibition at the Barbican into the night In the year “In 2019, it chronicles the culture of cabaret and the revolutionary wisdom that emerges from a looming war,” Erdem explained of Fall 2022’s inspiration. “There were so many parallels between the present and the past. Ultimately, I found it amazing that when they were oppressed, extraordinary women artists such as Jeanne Menne, Madame D’Or, Elfriede Lohse-Wachtler, Anita Berber, and Valeska Gert pioneered the beginnings of avant-garde expression. Their resistance it was.
How does Erdem find the starting point each season, I wonder? “I think it’s important to keep evolving as a brand and as a person,” Erdem replied. “My creative process is always to start with research, to build the narrative and the collection starts there. Sometimes it takes you to unexpected places. Unexpected, but not unusual.” It is inevitable,” added Erdem.
