The designer interview: Erdem Moralioglu

Erdem Moralioglu is at the Bridge Theatre, an arty, modern venue near London’s Tower Bridge. His visit is far from recreational, however, as the city is still on strict lockdown. “We are shooting the fall/winter collection,” says the designer; it is the fourth collection he has produced during the pandemic. “The last time I was here, we were in the ‘loose’ lockdown and they were staging Talking Heads with Kristin Scott Thomas,” he adds of his actor friend and past Met Gala date.

It’s as difficult for me to imagine the glory of a flesh-and-blood performance as it is to remember watching an Erdem runway show in person. For the designer’s last live debut, his models stalked through London’s National Portrait Gallery – just one of several sublime moments I have enjoyed over his 15 years in business (and indeed, our friendship). Yet even in lockdown, there can be light. For Erdem, this came in the form of an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, awarded for his contribution to the British fashion industry. The call came (yes, the Palace cold calls) early in lockdown, and he initially had to keep the accolade secret. I felt privileged to hear the news over a sushi picnic à deux as restrictions temporarily lifted. “It was a wonderful way to acknowledge my anniversary,” he says.

Raised in Montreal by his Turkish father and British mother, Erdem moved to London in 2005 and rose from a Royal College of Art graduate to the sole owner of a thriving business (in fashion, a rare feat). “I always had the idea that there was a great big world out there, waiting for me,” he says. His twin sister, Sara, accompanied him on his upward trajectory. Sara is now an acclaimed documentary-maker who has worked with Channel 4 News and BBC Newsnight, producing The 21st Floor film about Grenfell – and she carries off her brother’s designs with modern grace (even while walking the dog, as a recent FaceTime call with her wearing a floral Erdem jacket proved).

With his love of decorative arts and his talent for storytelling, one is easily swept away by Erdem’s design narratives and his muses – who are notably always creative and often restless. His new spring/summer 2021 collection, inspired by Susan Sontag’s 1992 novel The Volcano Lover, is no exception. Sontag herself plays muse, as does her protagonist, society beauty Emma Hamilton, whose illustrious love triangle with Lord Nelson and her volcanologist husband William plays out against the backdrop of Vesuvius erupting in 1750. “These three characters, who are in this extraordinary situation, and the idea of this thing that was larger than all of them, on the precipice of exploding – not even thinking about the revolution that was about to happen in France; that was happening in Italy – all of these political systems that were undoing themselves.” Erdem sees great parallels with the situation we are in now: “life erupts” and people are finding themselves “dancing on the lip of a volcano”.

The courtly, late-18th-century references emerge in the flattering empire-line silhouettes. “I loved the idea of making a big gown, but in this very simple cotton muslin,” says the designer. One such dress, the ‘Marlyn’, is his favorite: “That’s why I made it the finale,” he says of the Rousseau-esque white cotton dress with half sleeves and black ribbons that closed his audience-less runway show in Epping Forest. “The line was so completely romantic, because in the 18th century they were completely obsessed with Greek and Roman dress. It was very popular to wear cottony, gauzy things.” The ‘Claremont’ and ‘Sybil’ dresses also capture the neoclassical mood, featuring volcanic-red flowers all embroidered in Italy. “The red makes a slightly more joyous take on doing florals in a very simple way.”