For Spring Summer 19, Erdem has studied this cabal of Victorian characters and transported them from the music halls and theatres to London’s legendary club scene of the early 1990s. The underground experimentation and celebration of counter-culture feels familiar. The venues are darker and the music is louder but the daring of dressing to become what you are remains unchanged. The energy of personal and collective liberation is palpable.
Throughout the collection, shapes hark back to Victorian fashions with sheered volumes, tulle dresses with flounces, puffed sleeves, beaded capes and voile dresses. Embroidered taffeta, ruched silk voile, sheered lace and satin dresses with yolks and ruffles have an almost couture-like richness that feel decadently playful in their nightclub setting. By contrast, tailoring wool on houndstooth wool, dotted ottoman jacquard and pink wool feels boyish, at times fitted and others over-sized. Various elements are nipped in and puffed out for dramatic effect.