Erdem Moralioglu was referred to by Vogue as the ‘King of
Prints’ in response to his Autumn/Winter collection for 2011-12. His collections always make great use of
print and pattern in combination with his beautifully cut garments. His use of pattern, and the placement of
pattern within his clothing is particularly unique and he has the ability to
make embellishment appear as pattern or use pattern to create decoration.
He is known for romantic, feminine and colourful collections and has won many prizes since opening his fashion house in 2005. He has since collaborated with many high end retailers, such as browns, Harrods, Liberty and Net-à-Porter to create capsule collections, and some of the most famous and influential women in the world have worn his garments, from Michelle Obama to Claudia Schiffer.
His approach to design is particularly interesting,
describing each collection he makes as ‘a chapter in the same book’ of a
woman’s life. ‘It’s a narrative, but she’s still the same core girl; colourful,
sweet, elegant and hopefully effortless.’ (Vogue.com) He approaches his work
from two different angles, drawing and print, but both evolve simultaneously.
He uses digital software to combine his sketchbook work into his designs. ‘I
manipulate illustrations to create new prints that I then dry, scan, layer and
draw on. It takes weeks!’(vogue.com)
I find his collections are interesting and really stand out
because of his use of print and embellishment, and this really inspired me. The
way he places print on a garment suggests the use of digital printing (specific
placement of motifs in unusual areas like seams), although he does not
necessarily always use it in his collections. The narrative element of his work
also appealed to me for its connection to illustration - print can be used to
tell a story.
