Erdem Moralioglu Photographs Friends And Family For A Magazine’s New Issue

The fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu arrived at his first meeting with the team from A Magazine with what he calls a “Christmas wish list” of things he wanted to do. “And do you know what’s so funny? I haven’t thought back to that first meeting,” he seems to realise mid sentence, “but so many of those things on the list actually came to life.” He seems surprised. “It didn’t write itself,” he continues, “but I knew what it wanted to be, and I wanted it to be something that was really personal.”

Launching today, 7 November, A Magazine Curated by Erdem is indeed a highly personal tome that unlocks for readers the diverse range of influences – both personal and creative – that have shaped Moralioglu. “Doing what I do now has always been my dream,” he adds, “and there was something about doing this magazine that really reminded me of 17-year-old me, my hopes and dreams, and the things that I was obsessed with.” The issue explores themes of duality (the designer is a twin), gender, and queerness through his interests in photography, film, music, and art, along with fashion.

This is most evident in the four interviews conducted by the designer himself (there are many more in the issue), with the actor Glenn Close (star of Dangerous Liaisons, one of his favourite films); with the director of 1991’s Orlando, another one of his favourite films, Sally Potter; with the artist Roni Horn; and with the former host of Fashion File, now fashion critic Tim Blanks, who was an essential part of Moralioglu’s introduction to fashion as a young man growing up in Canada. “Dan [Thawley, A Magazine’s editor-in-chief] was like, ‘Well, who do you wanna get to have those conversations?’ and I was like, ‘Well, me!’” he remembers with a laugh.

With Close, who is now good friends with the designer, the magazine allowed him to sort of geek out on highly specific moments in their lives that he perhaps wouldn’t feel comfortable addressing during the normal course of their relationship. “I was fitting with her in Paris, and there was an opportunity to interview her on the relationship of historical costume and [her work as an] actress.” Perhaps because of the friendship, Close revealed candid details about shooting the movie’s pivotal final scene, just seven weeks after giving birth to her daughter. (You’ll have to read it in the issue to find out what they are.)

Also in the issue is a portfolio featuring 21 friends and family members photographed by Moralioglu, a selection of which is shown here. “I’ve always taken photographs of my collections over the last 17 years, but recently I kind of started doing it more seriously,” he explains. Alongside his twin sister, Sara, are the actor Keira Knightley and her husband, James Righton; his husband, Philip; and even his course director at the Royal College of Art, Wendy Dagworthy (“the one who gave me a scholarship that allowed me to stay at the Royal College and allowed me to kind of graduate with my class”).

Ethan James Green’s editorial was based around Fanny and Stella, who were born Frederick Park and Ernest Boulton and famously arrested in the 1870s for dressing in women’s clothes. The two inspired Moralioglu’s spring/summer 2019 collection. A portrait of the pair lives at the National Portrait Gallery. Photo: Ethan James Green / Courtesy of A Magazine

Other than incredible interviews – his sister Sara’s conversation with the painter Kaye Donachie, whom Moralioglu commissioned to do a portrait of their mother, is particularly special – the issue is filled with beautiful fashion editorials by Ethan James Green and Dara Allen, Campbell Addy and Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, and William Waterworth and Amanda Harlech. “I grew up looking at Amanda’s work in magazines, so to work with… such a legend, was amazing,” he explains, visibly giddy for what it means for his younger self. “It’s kind of like a window into what’s inside my head but also a kind of window into all of these extraordinary people, like Patrick Procktor and Derek Jarman and Roni Horn and Neil Tennant.” He continues, “Even just saying [their names] – it’s surreal to have them live together in the same issue. I read all of Derek’s diaries during lockdown, and I love him, and I love his work. The same with Patrick – their work is so beautiful and important.”