Erdem Moralioglu partners for a garden themed fashion show in Los Angeles
Stockholm giant H&M organized a garden party on October 18th in Los Angeles to show its collaboration with designer Erdem Moralioglu. For the occasion, the courtyard and hallways of the Wilshire Ebell Theatre were completely transformed into an English garden with maze-like features and used as a runway to parade what the designer had created. The uniqueness of the show though, is that guests could buy pieces even before the collection’s official launch.
Who is Erdem Moralioglu?
Making his debut 12 years ago in London, Erdem was noticed for his feminine touches, focus on textiles and vibrant prints and colours. Among the many honours he won over the years, the most distinguished is probably the Vogue British Fashion Council Designer Fashion Fund Award in 2010. Usually, his pieces are priced from $1000 to $4000 compared to his partnership with H&M, which will surprisingly range from $34,99 to $299. Still unknown to the larger public, it is the first time that his collection will be showed and sold to everyday consumers around the world.
The collection included a mixture of androgynous persons
Be it animal-print coats, mohair sweaters or flower-print pyjama-style tops, it was the designer’s first menswear collection with trim-fitting suits, pants, and blazers in neutral colours that included greys, windowpane, and Harris-tweed. As for the women’s collections, they involved an abundance of black lace and allover floral prints. Most notably, the show created a buzz for its gender mix that included androgyny, men and women models treading down the runway.
Baz Luhrmann also participated by creating a short trailer
The man who directed “The Great Gatsby” and “Moulin Rouge” collaborated with Erdem and created a short film/trailer about their partnership. Lurhmann didn’t really make a movie but more “a poetic trailer of a movie that will never be made — you know, unless there’s a financier here tonight who might want to meet me in the pop-up shop later,” he said half-jokingly. Erdem says that Lurhmann was the reason that the show was held in L.A as “it strangely made sense to show a very tweedy English collection in the middle of Hollywood,” he explained.
Erdem was inspired by his family
As a matter of fact, the collection was very personal to the designer as he was mostly inspired by his high-school years when growing up in Canada as an Anglophile as he “loved the idea of [the band] Blur and [the] Britpop [movement].” Pictures of his parents in the 1960’s were a major influence on this collection. As was his sister’s sense of fashion during high school, wearing a boy’s blazer over her chiffon dress.
A lot of stars showed up for the “Secret Garden” party
Apart from Lurhmann, various Hollywood stars showed up to check out Erdem’s latest collection. Celebrities that attended include, Kate Mara, Zendaya, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Bosworth and Selma Blair. Performing at the after-party was Canadian avant-garde synth-pop singer Claire Elise Boucher, known by the stage name Grimes.
