Aiming squarely at America, his biggest market, Erdem Moralioglu made versatility the heart of his resort collection. He imagined his outfits broken down and recombined to create "a beautiful, logical uniform." Winningly straightforward drop-waisted shifts, sleeveless poplin tops, and shirtdresses were center stage. They reminded the designer of the sixties (Samantha Stevens in her subdivision, perhaps), but he gave them an edge with murky, ominous prints that abstracted and combined flowers and static electricity. "Gothic suburban?" he offered with a dry laugh.
Moralioglu also wanted to emphasize seasonlessness and "occasionlessness." He saw everything—even the little summer shorts—making an easy transition from a lunch date to a night at the opera. As for his newly introduced overcoats, one style in black lace and another lavishly embroidered version (he called it Klimt) would elevate any outfit. But they also underscored that, versatility or not, there's always a sumptuously detailed precision to Moralioglu's proposals. That shirtdress, for instance, was hand-embroidered at cuff and bodice. A cotton lace tee had organza cuffs, a silk print shirt was over-embroidered with flowers, and a cocktail dress in royal blue silk twill came laboriously hand-worked with tiny packets of black beads. All were reminders that the Erdem woman is a rara avis, like a Hitchcock blonde. (Grace Kelly in Erdem? You know it makes sense.) His talent is to add real, sensual life to the idea, the truest testament to which might be the way the clothes take on so much dimension once they're fitted on a woman's body.
