The designer conjured a multigenerational world where young and old inspire each other’s way of dressing, right down to their crocheted knee socks, high-ruffled collars and leopard-print coats.
Erdem Moralioglu said he was looking at the work of photographers Diane Arbus and William Eggleston, and how they showed “older ladies in their Sunday best,” and linked those images to the idea of a young girl wearing her grandmother’s clothes.
“That’s why you see odd loafers, funny hats and pieces that clash, rather than match, but still somehow fit together,” the designer said.
The result was a dream world of flower prints, ribbons and bows, elbow-length gloves, and pie-crust collars. Among the standouts was a long, off-the-shoulder pink and silver jacquard dress with giant puff sleeves, a host of flower print dresses, some with luscious ruffles at the front, floaty tiers or pussy bow ties, and others dotted with pearls.
Moralioglu said he loved playing with silhouettes, too, and wanted some pieces to have a “deflated” look, as if the linings had been pulled out and the shapes adapted for warmer weather. The result was a lineup of long and gauzy ruffled tulle dresses that gave models the look of Victorian ghosts — on their way to a summer ball.