ERDEM AW15
'fashion weeks greatest stage set ' the guardian
An evocative, cinematic set of an extended living room divided into vignettes of dimly lit rooms each in various states of disarray. A stained version of ‘exquisite mid century modern mise-en-scene’, heightened with moonlight filtered thru venetian blinds. Madmen with stains. wallpaper
Erdem Moralioglu loves a narrative, and for AW15 he had started with a room ; ‘The Collector’ installation by Robin Brown for Helly Nahmad Gallery’s Frieze Masters 2014, the absorbing depiction of the cluttered 1968 Parisian apartment of a fictional art collector, piled high with papers, books and priceless art, full of the detritus and collected objects of one man’s life, an installation created by acted as the conceptual impetus for Erdem’s Autumn/Winter 2015. So inspired was Erdem by this piece, he asked Brown to produce a set for his show, and produced clothes to belong in the set, the evolving character’s wardrobe an amalgamation of decades and the collection acting as a visual memoir of her life.
Meeting with Erdem early in the process of him designing his collection we discussed his coming to Frieze Masters and seeing ‘The Collector’ and using that as a starting point for his collection. We also discussed liking Hitchcock and Hollywood films of the 1940’s and their muses and shared mood board images. The setting became the physical mood board for the collection, the clothes almost designed to complement the set.
Sigmar london a dealer in mid century Danish furniture provided a lot of the upholstered pieces, and Talisman the dealer in 60’s and 70’s lights lent us some spectacular table lights. The set pieces I designed as segments of house interiors acting as doorways cutting across the catwalk,with fading stained patterned original wallpapers of the period and they were built by Invisible Blue. The dressing of smaller pieces, books, magazines came from personal collections, the paintings from Erdem’s own collection, and the rest of the furniture pieces from London prop houses.
It created a somewhat worn-down 50s fusion of modern and Old World, with muted pastels and a sense of eeriness about it all, the wallpaper slightly soiled, and the tables and floors littered with cigarette butts, empty liquor glasses and well-worn magazines. A line of orange chairs from Sigmar in front of vintage lattice wallpaper, a yellow shaded Pierre Cardin Nickel and Lucite 70’s table lamp from Talisman next to a portrait of a young man lit by moonlight through venetian shutters, and a lilac carpeted Sanderson Vintage Floral wallpapered lounge with Crittal windows found on Ebay.
A fashion show using film language, creating character and narrative through immersive environment, with a looping soundtrack from La Dolce Vita and sound effects, a theatrical presentation of an unfolding story portraying a sense of abandonment whilst conveying a sense of humanity and a genuine ‘lived-in’ quality with the detritus of daily life scattered around. A sense of broken down decorum surrounded his protagonist for the season, the world in which she exists is one of faded glamour where vestiges of an affluent past merge curiously with undeniably modern elements as if they were a clan of forgotten film stars whose clothes matched their home décor, The clothes were made to look as if they’d been borrowed from the set, as if returning home from work each day and slowly becoming more unhinged they have ripped the upholstery from their sofa and made this kind of gown.
Subverting the usual fashion show format and to resolve the story the models broke convention and ended posed within the interior spaces, as a tableaux vivant.
The show was produced in collaboration with Anna Pank, who put together the team and logistics, the set was dressed by Myself with Anna, Marko Waschke, and Jemima Hawkins. It was lit with heavy shadows of venetian blinds by Petter Skramstad of LX Lighting.
'The line between Frieze and fashion week was blurred ever further, in a super-chic way' wall street journal
‘Exquisite mid-century modern mise-en-scenes' telegraph
‘Pushing a new age of theatricality and self-expression on the runway at London Fashion Week. ID
‘the poetry of this ..The set was elaborate’ NYT
‘brought fashion and design together ‘Architectural Digest
‘Madmen with stains’ Wallpaper
'this evocative, cinematic set' HG
‘like a step back in time to an early ‘Madmen’-era ’ Wall street journal
“world” class,’ Vogue
“Myheart is fluttering,” Irish Times
‘Setting the standard for London Fashion Week in general.’ HG
‘A masterful study of character through environment’ Be global
featured in Wallpaper Magazine.