Erdem’s latest collection was part-retrospective, peering back at 15 years of collections and adapting his favorite pieces to serve a more stripped-down aesthetic — which, yes, he called “rational,” before cracking, “A rational approach to a hand-embroidered red organza broderie anglaise gown with 3D flowers on it, punctuated by a black grosgrain belt.” Erdem’s collections are almost always too fussy and precious and MUCH for me, and I enjoyed the Vogue piece that demonstrates he’s aware of that even as he has embraced it. I also liked this take on his version of nostalgia:
“It felt like a love letter to the archetypes of Englishness,” he said, musing about Anglo tropes like the perfect trench coat, a particular nipped-in waist, dresses that look like your grandmother’s curtains, and Nancy Mitford casually throwing on a cardigan over a ballgown.
This DOES have a simpler, occasionally grimmer feel — though I can’t tell how much of that is on purpose, and how much is because it was obviously a grey London day when he shot the photos and that is completely at odds with how one perceives anything pegged to the word “resort.” Maybe that’s all part of the new rationality too. But a lot of them look very glum and several seem to be the ghosts of women who died in surprise dish-washing accidents.
