ERDEM Autumn/Winter 2021

Words Thomas Brooks

Upon self-iso­la­tion, those in the fash­ion indus­try have vocalised their appre­ci­a­tion and nos­tal­gia for fash­ion week – a wide­ly cel­e­brat­ed event that takes place in mul­ti­ple cities, a few times a year. This overview marks a year since my atten­dance at my first sea­son, and whilst every­one loved the hus­tle and bus­tle and the after-par­ties – my solace and com­fort were the run­ways and the fash­ion. Every sea­son since has been no dif­fer­ent. How­ev­er, with this overview, instead of sit­ting front row, togeth­er we will be vir­tu­al­ly back­stage with ERDEM. The back­stage is where all the dra­ma is, and there is a lot to pick on…

Moralioglu’s work this sea­son is rich in nar­ra­tive. Every live per­for­mance on stage would have chore­o­graphed moves and cues, but what is impor­tant to us is a wardrobe befit­ting of each sto­ry and char­ac­ter. This col­lec­tion embod­ies “the dichotomies of a dancer” as Morali­oglu states. Explor­ing oppos­ing ideals that can be seen togeth­er in an inti­mate moment of time. ERDEM has unveiled that cur­tain and is bridg­ing the con­trast between the rehearsal and the mati­nee. The art of per­for­mance that is syn­ony­mous with ERDEM taps into a crit­i­cal trend for all of us: comfort-wear. 

A com­po­si­tion of tai­lor­ing and pleats, or knitwear and cum­mer­bunds. This is a col­lec­tion of divine dif­fer­ence from each wing of the world as influ­enced by the envi­ron­ment we’ve cre­at­ed over the past year. One must add that there is cohe­sion in this col­lec­tion, the ribbed knitwear does not become osten­ta­tious nor sec­ondary to any look, but rather forged into an equa­tion with sharp pleats. Beyond the trends that are present, this col­lec­tion is clev­er­ly cul­ti­vat­ed by the rela­tion­ship of Rudolf Nureyev and Mar­got Fonteyn – a pub­lic sto­ry with a wardrobe that cross­es the can­did nature of back­stage, and the staged pro­duc­tion on stage. 

ERDEM’s FW21 Col­lec­tion is all-embrac­ing of the world we live in and the com­fort lev­el we need. True to the brand’s nature, 44 looks moti­vate us to bring the show home and to car­ry on danc­ing; but we can achieve avant-garde and recre­ate Swan Lake in some pleats and ribbed knitwear.