Erdem Moralıoğlu (born November 1977) is a Creative Director and founder of eponymous London-based fashion label Erdem, which he established in 2005.

Early life and education

Moralıoğlu was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada to a Turkish father, Erkal who was a chemical engineer and an English mother, Marlene Dawn (nee Jeavons) who worked as a secretary. His parents met whilst working together in Geneva and his mother grew up between Montreal and

Birmingham, England Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands region, in England. It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest cit ...

. A graduate of

Marianopolis College Marianopolis College is a private English-language college in the Canadian province of Quebec. Located in Westmount, Quebec, it is an anglophone college with a student body over 2,000. The General and Vocational Education College, known as a CE ...

, Moralıoğlu earned a BA in fashion from

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

(now

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

) in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada and then worked as an intern for

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (; 8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022) was an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. In 2022, ''Sky Arts'' ranked her the ...

. He moved to London in 2000 to study fashion at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

on a

Chevening Scholarship The Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship, funded by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and partner organizations, that enables foreign students to study at universities in the United Kingdom. History The C ...

Career

Moralıoğlu moved to New York before relocating back to London to launch his own label, ERDEM, in 2005. In 2017, ERDEM collaborated with H&M, Moralıoğlu’s first collection for men; director

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

created the visuals for the campaign. In 2018, Moralıoğlu designed costumes for 24 ballet dancers performing in

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Early life Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at th ...

's '' Corybantic Games'' at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

in London. In 2021, ERDEM expanded to designing menswear.

Recognition

In 2012, he won the 'New Establishment' award at the

Fashion Awards Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

. In 2013, he was awarded at the

British Fashion Awards The Fashion Awards, known as the British Fashion Awards until 2016, is an annual ceremony established in the United Kingdom in 1989 to showcase both British and international individuals and businesses who have made the most outstanding contrib ...

for 'Red Carpet Designer of the Year'. Later, in 2014, Moralıoğlu was named the

British Fashion Council The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual Women's wear and Men's wear showcases, London F ...

’s Women’s Wear Designer of the Year. In 2017, he won International Canadian Designer of the Year at the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards. Moralıoğlu was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to fashion.

Personal life

Moralıoğlu lives and operates a studio in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

, east London. He has a twin sister, Sara, who makes TV documentaries about geography and natural history. Since 2018, he has been married to architect Philip Joseph. In an interview for the Cut in 2018 he revealed that he preferred pickled goods over chocolate. His mother, Marlene passed away in 2007 and his father, Erkal in 2001.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moralıoğlu, Erdem Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Art Canadian fashion designers Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Turkish descent Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Designers from Montreal Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom British fashion designers Members of the Order of the British Empire 1977 births LGBTQ fashion designers Canadian twins