Chatsworth is a long way from Whitechapel, where Erdem Moralıoğlu has his studio and where for nearly twenty years he’s been delighting the fashion world with his deeply romantic craft laden excursions in getting dressed beautifully. But as we all know, it’s good to get out of town occasionally.
His new exhibition at the house centres on his obsession with the Duchess of Devonshire, or Debo as Mitford aficionados will know her. It opened last night with a glamorous dinner attended by Keira Knightley, Jenna Coleman and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Erdem took the Duchess, who died in 2014, as muse for his spring summer 2024 collection, fusing her country attire with couture and chickens for an astutely poetic collection, for which he worked with the textile archive at Chatsworth, incorporating everything from its chintz upholstery to the Victorian insect brooches (ruby and emerald encrusted dragonflies and spiders) she was gifted annually by her husband as well as her passion for Elvis Presley.
This collection has now become the subject of an exhibition spread across the Regency Guest Bedrooms of the house. “Fashion shows are so ephemeral, they happen very quickly” said the designer on a tour of the space. “It’s all over in eight minutes, to have the opportunity to work with a curator and historians to create a body of work and be able to share it is so nice.”
For nerdy fashion and history fans it’s a gloriously forensic look at his process. It opens with a wall of Debo imagery - as well as her framed opera gloves and pristine Turnball and Asser shirts. Pieces from the collection are displayed in the extraordinary rooms, covered in hand painted chinoiserie 18th century wallpaper strewn with exotic birds and floral landscapes, alongside some of Debo’s personal pieces - her walking shoes, yellow silk heels, Elvis themed slippers and a 1950s hand draped pink party dress which was made by a local dressmaker. A sign of the times perhaps, while Erdem produces around 50 per cent of his collections in the UK, this is something that’s decreased over time, “Textile [manufacturers] in England are becoming fewer and fewer. After Brexit and Covid a lot of workshops closed down. It’s definitely become more challenging.” It is an admittedly trying time for London based designers.
“It is difficult” he says, “We're completely independent, and that's something that we're proud of and that is important to us. It’s really challenging, [we’re] navigating it step by step. It’s also weirdly interesting, I think it’s about understanding and getting to your customer as directly as possible.”
Broader projects like this - which has been sponsored by Farfetch - certainly help. The grandeur of the finished pieces are extrapolated through a mockup of his atelier, showing his sketches of initial ideas, moodboard, final show model lineup, as well as the toiles and miniature paper models his team create for each look. He used original curtain material from the house in one show piece, another was embroidered by Cecily Lasnet, Stella Tennant's daughter and Debo’s great granddaughter.
The final ‘conversation’ between Erdem and Debo sits in a bedroom which was once used by Mary Queen of Scots during her imprisonment here in the 16th century. She was by all accounts an expensive house guest. The room has a certain froideur to it, the energy shifts. But here sits a clear thread between the two - the inside of a petticoat used as reference for a modern party piece, all with Debo’s portrait bearing down.
Inside Imaginary Conversations: An Erdem collection inspired by Duchess Deborah, Chatsworth, open 22nd June - 20 October 2024
