by Lotus Ladegaard
Behind the ready-to-wear label Erdem is Turkish Canadian Erdem Moralioglu, who founded the brand in 2005. He has a Bachelor degree from Ryerson University in fashion as well as a Master from the Royal College of Art in London. He has won several prestigious fashion awards from the first year of his label through to the most recent in 2015 awarded by the British Fashion Council for Establishment Designer. Erdem is known for use of experimental textiles, vibrant prints, detailed craftsmanship and the versatile yet powerful feminine style. Over the years, Erdem has gained a strong celebrity following and stars such as Cate Blanchett, Michelle Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow, Juliane Moore, Linda Evangelista, Anne Hathaway and Sarah Jessica Parker have worn Erdem styles.
Erdem's AW17 Collection in many ways relied much on the vibrant prints, Erdem has become synonymous with. They were elegant and relevant and ranged from bold and loud multi-coloured pieces to subtle and sophisticated two-coloured pieces. The color palette as the print offered something for most, although collection as a whole lacked that sort of range and was at times overly designed. While Erdem certainly has not lacked ideas or inspiration with references to his heritage, Asia and prior decades, but a bit of editing would have paid off, I am sure. Some of the styles also came off a bit dated and too matronly while the intricate details pulled towards a more contemporary feel. Nevertheless, Erdem remains at the top of the game when it comes to prints and he will undoubtedly excite many bold fashionistas. Erdem delivered a solid AW17 collection with some very memorable stand-out pieces.
