The Collections

Fashion’s Erdem Moralioglu on his passion for art and design and his pursuit of the perfectly outfitted store.

- Katrina Israel

‘Grayson Perry got in touch,’ recalls Erdem Moralioglu of the email he received inviting him to join the Royal Academy’s committee, an honour that puts him in the company of Ron Arad, Thomas Heatherwick and David Bailey. ‘I’d met him at the Turner Prize a few years ago, but didn’t really know him. So yes, I was thrilled.’

The London-based fashion designer has a serious art habit, and word of it is now spreading. Earlier this year, he guest-edited the first Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated sale in London. He began collecting eight years ago, and his latest acquisition is a Tracey Emin watercolour bought from White Cube during Art Basel Hong Kong. Scanning his personal art inventory (he’scurrently renovating his London home, so much of his collection is in storage), he adds, ‘I love portraiture. There are so few pieces that don’t have a face!’

His first purchase was a Nan Goldin photograph, Yogo in the Mirror, followed by a Peter Doig and a Wolfgang Tillmans. His collection also includes Rineke Dijkstra (‘I love the formality of the matadors post-battle,’ he says), Larry Clark and Anne Collier, whom Raf Simons used to shoot his Kvadrat collection. ‘The Collier of these women holding cameras is one of my favourite pieces,’ he says.