erdem | the pre-spring 2027 collection

For Pre-Spring 2027, Erdem turns its attention to one of the most fascinating figures of interwar avant-garde culture. The collection draws inspiration from Barbette, the Texas-born trapeze artist whose gender-defying aerial performances captivated Parisian music halls throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Born Vander Clyde Broadway, the high-wire star built a sensational career around theatrical illusion, performing elaborate high-flying acrobatics in exquisite women’s costumes before pulling off his wig at the absolute end of the set to reveal his male identity. It was a carefully choreographed act of ambiguity that challenged expectations long before such conversations entered the mainstream. This fascination with historical performance culture marks a direct continuation of Erdem Moralioğlu’s recent design trajectory, mirroring his Pre-Autumn 2026 collection which leaned into the dramatic, corseted silhouettes and high-society theatricality of the Belle Époque. A favourite of both Jean Cocteau and Man Ray, Barbette’s shape-shifting world becomes the creative engine for Moralioğlu to explore sharp sartorial contrasts across 39 distinct outfits. Masculine and feminine codes collide throughout the lineup. Structured, oversized grey tailoring inspired by interwar menswear and raw workwear fabrics sit alongside delicate embroidered organza, sheer hand-embroidered tulle and metalled satin. The designer looks directly to the visual language of circus and... Read more » The post erdem | the pre-spring 2027 collection appeared first on Schön! Magazine.