Erdem Moralioglu was at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire for the grandly glamorous opening of the “House Style” exhibition earlier this year. Part of the reason was that a blue sequined dress of his had been placed by the curators (Lady Laura Burlington and Vogue’s Hamish Bowles) in a stunning scenario that is given over to the glittering splendors of the lives—and the wives—of the dukes of Devonshire, going back six centuries. Moralioglu has his place there because both the present duchess and her daughter-in-law are among his customers, Burlington having been one of his first champions as a fashion buyer at The Bluebird store 10 years ago.
That story sheds a telling side light on a secret virtue of Moralioglu’s design: how it crosses generations, fulfilling the need for beautiful, formal but unstuffy dresses for many sorts of women who have social occasions to host and attend. His is an empathetic, highly observational approach, as well as a romantic one—and naturally, all those qualities are at play again in his Resort collection. In a preview, he explained how he’d been looking into the worlds of two women artists of the 1930s and ’40s. Photographs of Surrealist painter Leonora Carrington and the collages of women by Dada artist Hannah Höch were on his walls, pinned up next to pictures of Japonaise screens and textiles painted with landscapes and birds.
Those visual starting points are traceable in the flowery jacquard textiles and embroideries, the ’40s tea dresses, and the powder puff–feathered boas and jacket in this collection. Still, perhaps there’s more than a hint that his stay at Chatsworth is echoing, too. Ever an admirer of the grand tradition of English eccentricity, Moralioglu’s eye clearly zoomed in on something from the “House Style” exhibition. The late Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, had a penchant for diamond insect brooches, especially spiders. Look closely and you’ll see how that souvenir pops up in the bug-shaped jewelry, which will be appearing in his growing accessory collection very soon.
