Erdem Spring 2027: Androgyny to the Fore

by · WWD
Erdem Spring 2027 Ready-to-Wear Collection at London Fashion WeekGiovanni Giannoni/WWD

Will womenswear designers ever tire of juxtaposing masculine and feminine elements in their collections? As if!

Erdem Moralıoğlu delivered a humdinger of a collection Sunday afternoon that brilliantly mashed up showgirl feathers, boudoir lingerie and sparkly panties aplenty with high-collared Edwardian shirts, jaunty tuxedo jackets and mannish woolen coats.

Staged at the Roadhouse, a concert venue in Camden, the show had drama to spare as models stormed out in their crystal-studded bodysuits and soigné tailoring, parting the dry ice drifting across the floor in the pitch-black space.

Moralıoğlu has a penchant for gender-bending historical figures and this season settled on Barbette, a Texas-born man who became an avant-garde sensation in 1920s Paris as a curly haired trapeze artist in a sparkly bra and a feathery skirt.

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A muse to Cocteau, and a sitter for Man Ray, Barbette (the stage name of Vander Clyde Broadway) could also be seen in a gangster-worthy double-breasted suit and fedora on Moralıoğlu’s mood board backstage, where he was swarmed by well-wishers.

“It was all about the tension between male and female,” he said during the backstage scrum, always one of the most scholarly of the European season. “Androgyny in the purest sense.”

The designer said he relished the challenge posed by his mostly bare-legged silhouettes, which he topped with billowing Army green parkas, denim duster coats and handsome dinner jackets with scarf-like lapels. His cropped gray V-neck sweaters and cardigans, trimmed with sparkly embroideries, stood out as immediate impulse purchases.

Indeed, in his visual tug-of-war, the feminine elements ultimately won the day: gorgeous florals that dissolved into fringe; grandiose bathrobe-like coats with fluffy feathered trims; plunging lace slipdresses with tiered ruffles, worn over satin bra tops, and gossamer tulle numbers encrusted with crystals, or dangling fabric flowers.

Moralıoğlu noted that Barbette disappeared into obscurity as quickly as he emerged from it, though his unique combination of glamour and athleticism inspires still.