All the World’s a Stage: ERDEM’s Feather-Clad Ballerinas Show the World how to be Glamorous when in Limbo and how Magical it will be to Spread One’s Wings Again.

Image and Video Credit: ERDEM

A single circular spot on the stage was where all the models – some dressed for the Opera and others in ribbed leggings and shorts (as if getting ready for a ballet rehearsal) migrated to, like the proverbial moth to a flame. Compelled to perform. Perched high on platforms ballet pumps, hair covered in simple ribbed head bands (as if in pre-performance mode) models floated to and fro the coveted spot of limelight. It’s that very tension between waiting to get ready, rehearsing and ultimately performing together with the compulsion to push oneself, that all ballet dancers can identify with, that Erdem superbly captured in this atmospheric collection.

What struck me most about this collection was not just the poetry and theatre of it, but how utterly wearable each and every piece was, and how there would be an occasion and place in most people’s lives for wearing these ageless, timeless garments. Fifties-style knife-pleated, wonderfully full skirts swished over their underskirts as models on their elevated, almost fetish-esque black platforms navigated centre stage. Demure, beautifully tailored coats with a feather surface motif depicted the point of arriving to a rehearsal or performance. Dramatic rhinestone encrusted opera coats with their billowing sleeves

rubbed shoulders with delicate moth’s wing pleated chiffon dresses. A tutu-style silver mini dress was particularly striking in its shape and dripping embellishments, toned down by the addition of ballet-style knitted arm warmers.

Occasionally we were reminded that life’s not all a performance and that vast parts of it consist of being in limbo, waiting: ribbed legging & cardigan ensembles, trousers underneath an embellished dress, ribbed shorts and arm warmers shared the stage with their glamourous counterparts. The comfort and tactility of these items of loungewear were ingeniously juxtaposed with the opulence of ‘performance’ frocks with their glamorous feathers (a nod to Swan Lake?), encrusted rhinestones and embroidery. Often Erdem blended the lines between ‘lounging/waiting’ and ‘glamming up’ by introducing an element like a feather shrug, a pair of knitted arm warmers or ribbed head band to the look to either dress it up or down.

Ballet is a theme that Erdem Moralioglu is intimately acquainted with: in 2018 he designed the costumes for the Royal Ballet and subsequently invited four of the prima donnas – Christina Arestis, Elizabeth McGorian, Zenaida Yanowski and Marguerite Porter – to join the models on stage for his Fall 2021 show. It was a well-considered touch to see models of all ages share the stage.

This is an emotionally intelligent collection (and I must admit, one of my personal favourites of Fall LFW 2021) – passionate and evocative, carefully crafted and beautifully narrated by a storyteller of repute, his backdrop the notoriously emotive, atmospheric and volatile world of ballet. He threads a story together of all the stages (excuse the pun) of our lives, the roles we play and the waiting we inevitable have to put up with in between. This collection transcends fashion on so many levels: yes, the story is told by means of the most wondrous of creations, but ultimately it’s a metaphor for our lives.

Here’s to spreading our wings yet again and soaring!