The deep, inky teal blue that backgrounds Erdem Moralioglu’s pre-fall lookbook is a metaphor. The indigo hues and the blue, tendrilly flower prints that run through his collection allude to Maud Wagner, America’s first known female tattoo artist. Born in Kansas in 1877, Wagner gained popularity as a circus aerialist and sideshow marvel—and the internet attests that her cult status persists as strongly today. “I thought there was something so interesting about this kind of transgressive woman who decorated her body in this wonderful symmetry,” said the designer, hovering over an inspiration board pinned with photos of Wagner and other women captured in turn-of-the-century Belle Epoque high style.
The romantic textures of Moralioglu’s work often appear through antique-seeming techniques. The pale washed satin patinated dress, over-run with tattoo-inspired carnations and bouquets of daisies is visually redolent of something pulled out of a dressing-up box. That crumpled casualness, combined with a certain air of grandeur is integral to his attraction. The Erdem way of expressing femininity without being frou-frou runs through his every item, from broderie anglaise blouses and dresses through cyanotype burn-out denim, embroidered knits, and a repertoire of statement-making coats (one iris-strewn like an Art Nouveau enameled vase), right through to the all-out mysterious glamour of evening dresses adorned with falling-apart Edwardian lace or spirals of taffeta and jet.
This collection marks Moralioglu’s first step into his 20th anniversary year as a British independent brand. “I was thinking about the anniversary and this idea of memory—and that you get a tattoo to mark certain moments in your life,” he reflected, hurrying to clarify that he’s never been tatted himself. Instead, the collection represents recollections of many moments imprinted on his mind from past shows, like “little symbols.”
You’d have to be an Erdem-ologist to identify which detail came from where, but no worries: This designer is always hinting as much about what’s to come next as he is about taking us on trails into history. As a known trilogy-maker, this Belle Epoque, Art Nouveau, narrow, sinuous silhouette thing seems like the start of a fresh theme. Around the corner in February at London Fashion Week, we’ll be seeing that walk out at the British Museum, Erdem’s show-home, where he’s now a trustee.
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