Erdem does latex. Not a headline anyone was expecting to take away from Erdem’s autumn winter 2012 show, but latex he did, worked in to the most exquisite collection imaginable.
/var/elleuk/storage/images/catwalk/designer-a-z/erdem/autumn-winter-2012/collection/erdem-rf12-0016-erdem-london-autumn-winter-2012/13421144-1-eng-GB/erdem-rf12-0016_CC.jpg /var/elleuk/storage/images/catwalk/designer-a-z/erdem/autumn-winter-2012/collection/erdem-rf12-0016-erdem-london-autumn-winter-2012/13421144-1-eng-GB/erdem-rf12-0016_C0.jpg iMAXTREE 
/var/elleuk/storage/images/catwalk/designer-a-z/erdem/autumn-winter-2012/collection/erdem-rf12-0035-erdem-london-autumn-winter-2012/13421137-1-eng-GB/erdem-rf12-0035_CC.jpg /var/elleuk/storage/images/catwalk/designer-a-z/erdem/autumn-winter-2012/collection/erdem-rf12-0035-erdem-london-autumn-winter-2012/13421137-1-eng-GB/erdem-rf12-0035_C0.jpg iMAXTREE 
/var/elleuk/storage/images/catwalk/designer-a-z/erdem/autumn-winter-2012/collection/erdem-rf12-0054-erdem-london-autumn-winter-2012/13421130-1-eng-GB/erdem-rf12-0054_CC.jpg /var/elleuk/storage/images/catwalk/designer-a-z/erdem/autumn-winter-2012/collection/erdem-rf12-0054-erdem-london-autumn-winter-2012/13421130-1-eng-GB/erdem-rf12-0054_C0.jpg iMAXTREE 
/var/elleuk/storage/images/catwalk/designer-a-z/erdem/autumn-winter-2012/collection/erdem-rf12-0068-erdem-london-autumn-winter-2012/13421123-1-eng-GB/erdem-rf12-0068_CC.jpg /var/elleuk/storage/images/catwalk/designer-a-z/erdem/autumn-winter-2012/collection/erdem-rf12-0068-erdem-london-autumn-winter-2012/13421123-1-eng-GB/erdem-rf12-0068_C0.jpg iMAXTREE 
Anyone who felt spring’s collection a little too sugary will be all over the power and sexiness of this show. We’re not talking Back Alley Sally, no, Erdem’s subversion is a hand painted, Hitchcockian vision of cocoon coats, plastic covered lace gowns and swoon-worthy dresses covered in jewels. “I was looking at Peggy Guggenheim. I loved the idea of a woman who consumed art” said Erdem backstage of the White Cube gallery location.
“I love the idea of stripping everything back” he adds, “I found myself with some latex we found at a bondage store, and we were looking at the idea of mixing it with embroidery, and taking very English fabrics like lace, covering it in latex and hand painting them”. This toughening of pretty materials, of working on the idea of what makes a lady and turning it on its head, had even the androgynous dressers in the audience plotting their first purchase. But even when lace was untreated, it conjured up evocative ideas of transparency and lingerie.
“This season is very much about the women, whereas last season it was much more about the girl” Erdem told us, “mixing things like plastics in to the collection felt really new and uncomfortable for me”. Thank you Erdem for suffering a little pain so that we might enjoy such pleasure.
