Harmonizing Heritage and Haute Couture: Erdem's Ode to Maria Callas Pre-Fall 2024

Erdem's new collection inspired by the mid-century European world of Maria Callas

Fashion meets opera in Erdem Moralioglu's new Pre-Fall 2024 collection, weaving threads of inspiration from the legendary Maria Callas. A diva whose on-stage prowess belied a life fraught with insecurity and tragedy, Callas's voice possessed an electric capacity to project complex emotional states. While the opera singer has been the muse for other fashion designers this season, Erdem takes a more abstract approach, writes Antonio Visconti. Photographs by Sonia Szostak

One of the dreamy silk dresses in Erdem's

latest collection scattered with flowers.

Erdem's latest collection is a sartorial exploration of how Callas dressed and carried herself, drawing from the singer's style and mid-century motifs. 

The juxtaposition of structure and drapery, tailoring and organic shapes, creates an intriguing dance of contrasts, reminiscent of Fifties and Sixties silhouettes: cocoon shapes, boat-neck dresses, and felted pea coats with voluminous backs.

The overall sensation is one of decadence tempered with an austere edge. In Erdem's vision, each ensemble is a play between the controlled and the wild. A sleek black dresss with an oversized fuchsia bow, evinces the contrasts. 

Monastic dresses adorned with built-in bows and capes featuring jewel-encrusted shoulders, exude elegance tinged with exuberance. A cloqué gown, with exaggerated bows on the shoulders, showcases Erdem's masterful touch in navigating a delicate line between the extravagant and something more refined. 

A black duchesse dress, complete with a structured bustier and waist, has a sculptural quality. Whereas knits paired with mint-green draped skirts bridge both the casual and formal. Flower motifs, predominantly roses, are used as symbols, scattered across silk dresses, in blurred motion, as if caught mid-flight from audience to star. A long gown, entirely covered with hand-dyed applique roses in varying shades from red to pink, has a certain poetic expression. 

The juxtaposition of structure and drapery, tailoring and organic shapes, creates an intriguing dance of contrasts, reminiscent of Fifties and Sixties silhouettes

Roses adorn this gown inspired by the

mid-century style of Maria Callas

Silk-printed roses beneath black tulle skirts, and a black peplum suit jacket adorned with hundreds of black crushed flowers, almost camouflaged in their abundance. The collection creatively interprets the wardrobe of Maria Callas, who lived life both in the glare of the theatre and under the spotlight of high society. 

Erdem's designs blur the threshold between on and off stage making his creations very wearable along with being an homage to Maria Callas. 

The designer's own narrative has its drama, as he was born in Montreal, later traversing continents, honing his craft under fashion luminaries like Vivienne Westwood in the United Kingdom. 

His trajectory from London to New York and back, culminated in the launch of ERDEM in 2005,  Accolades such as the British Fashion Council’s Women’s Wear Designer of the Year in 2014 and an MBE in 2020 underscore his impact on fashion.

Creavity and elegance converge in Erdem's collections which are full of emotion. As Pre-Fall '24 unfolds, Erdem continues to be both curator and composer, weaving a tapestry that explores though the medium of fashion the enduring legacy of Maria Callas.

See more highlights from Erdem's collection below