Changes were afoot at the much-anticipated Erdem show today; the designer, renowned for his love of colour and print, introduced all-black pieces for the very first time.
And what breathtakingly beautiful pieces there were. Erdem played with textures throughout the collection, the first look a boucle dress with a narrow sheer panel at the waist revealing a sliver of skin below and another panel added to the hem of the skirt. A black wool dress and jacket, checked with slim lines of bright green, had black ostrich feather hanging from them. Black lace with a big rose motif was transformed in form-fitting dresses, and small polka dots appeared on a sheer background on panels set against lace and black satin. A coat covered in sequins moved from steel grey to black from the collar to hem.
Not that the designer had swerved colour all together. His signature floral prints were still in evidence on ladylike shift and tulip-shaped dresses, but the colours were often muted by being covered with sheer black tulle that extended into high necks and long sleeves. Pink ostrich and sequins appeared under the same black veil. And car coats and shifts, more day-appropriate than their opulent counterparts, were more simply printed with coloured flowers against a black background.
The stand out pieces were the most intricately embellished; black silk pieces covered in pink and blue beaded flowers that each had an ostrich feather waving from the centre; black and pink sequined pencil skirts and tops that were topped with matching voluminous ostrich feathers; and full skirts and cropped jackets that we covered in appliquéd flowers.
The show had more of a dramatic, femme-fatale feel to it that weve come to expect from Erdem. But it felt like an accomplished and sophisticated leap forward - and we loved it.
