Keeping it real—fashion supremo Erdem Moralıoğlu is fascinated by museum conservation

Erdem Moralioglu with award presenter Alexa Chung at the Elle Style Awards 2015
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The Turkish fashion designer Erdem Moralıoğlu looked to an unlikely source for his latest collection—museum conservators at some of the most illustrious museums in the UK. The Financial Times describes how Moralıoğlu, whose starry clients include the Princess of Wales and Julianne Moore, visited conservation departments at the National Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum and Tate Britain, seeking inspiration for his spring/summer 2023 collection. The FT pieces outlines how Moralıoğlu drew on his findings—“facsimiles of the labels conservators use to track and classify artworks appeared stitched to some hemlines. And all the protective vellums and dust sheets became glass organza veils draped over crystal- and sequin-embellished dresses.” Canadian-born Moralıoğlu was fascinated in particular by Larry Keith’s work at the National Gallery who was busy restoring a 16th-century work by Parmigianino when the fashion supremo first visited in April last year. “I love a museum. There’s just something in the walls of those kinds of extraordinary places,” Moralıoğlu says, musing on the power of these wondrous repositories.

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