Erdem: Imaginary Conversations charts the creative process of fashion designer, Erdem Moralioglu, in creating a collection inspired by Deborah Duchess of Devonshire.
Throughout 2023, Chatsworth worked closely with Erdem, providing access to the estate’s extensive archive of clothing, accessories, textiles, and photographs as source material.
As we reach the final weeks of the exhibition, which closes on 20 October, Susie Stokoe, Head of Textiles at Chatsworth, reflects on the exhibition and provides background on its curation, and muse.
Were any materials from the archive used to create the ERDEM collection or are they replicas?
Some of the items on display from ERDEM do contain sections of curtains that were part of the Chatsworth textile collection. However, pieces of these curtains have also been retained by us and added to the archive in case we ever wish to reproduce the cloth.
Are the items in the exhibition retail outfits or just for display?
All of the items on display are real outfits either used to launch the ERDEM collection or are garments from the textile archive preserved in the Devonshire Collections. The Pieces from ERDEM are mostly press samples that could be ordered from by clients (made to measure). However, some of the pieces did go into wider production.
What do you think is the most beautiful piece in the exhibition?
I think Look 42 is the most beautiful and special piece in the collection as it is made from curtains that were actually part of the textile collection and it has been embroidered by Cecily Lasnet, Duchess Deborah’s great-granddaughter.
This dress has a beautiful faded softness and romance contrasting Cecily’s quite edgy black embroidery. I think this piece really captures something about Chatsworth as a place – its history, grandeur and romance, and how it also embraces contemporary design and houses such an exceptional contemporary collection.
And I also think the dragonfly brooch we have on display, that belonged to Duchess Deborah, is just fabulous!
Will any of the ERDEM pieces be retained by the estate?
The majority of the pieces in the exhibition are on loan from ERDEM. Three complete looks will be gifted to the collection for posterity, including one of the Barber coats and an embroidered dress. The third item is still to be confirmed, there are just too many wonderful garments to choose from.
The Elvis shoes…what’s the story?
The Duchess was a huge fan of Elvis. I don’t think she ever actually met him, but she did go to Graceland and collected Elvis memorabilia of which the slippers are a part.
Which item of Erdem’s do you think Duchess Deborah would have liked the most?
There are pieces in this collection that I can definitely see Duchess Deborah wearing. I can see her out in the park in one of the Barbour coats. I think she would also have loved the humour in the tweed suit, with its hem frayed as if it's been pecked by chickens.
How do you feel Duchess Deborah’s legacy is felt at Chatsworth?
Duchess Deborah’s legacy is felt right across the estate. She had a strong ‘can do’ attitude that still exists among the people who work here. I didn’t know Duchess Deborah but she strikes me as a person who enjoyed people, though didn’t suffer fools. I also feel that she cared about the people who worked around her. We call this the ‘Chatsworth Family’ and it’s still strong today. Deborah enjoyed creative people and supported contemporary artists. That legacy continues.
What was the most exciting discovery in the belongings of Duchess Deborah?
Talking from a purely textile point of view, the most exciting discovery was an oyster pink silk satin couture dress by Dior. It’s strapless and very difficult to display but was shown just after its discovery in 2017 as part of the House Style Exhibition.
Are all of Duchess Deborah’s clothes still in the collection?
A large number of Duchess Deborah’s items of clothing and accessories are in the collection, although some pieces are with members of her family.
How do you decide which personal belongings and clothing are kept in the archives?
There are various ways we make that decision. If a member of the family has worn an outfit to a significant event such as a royal wedding we would like to have that in the collection. If there is a special photograph of an individual we would like to have that in the collection. Pieces by famous designers are good to keep as an investment, but also there is a desire to collect garments that say something about a moment in time.
Cloth can be considered as an object of wonderful design not just something you wear and this exhibition celebrates this. Clothes can tell stories about a person, a place, a craft or just an object of great beauty. In my eyes, a gorgeous dress is just as impressive and important as a beautiful piece of jewellery or a celebrated painting.
How do you store and protect textiles in the archive?
When storing the textile collection, of which costume is a big part, our main focus is to protect the cloth from environmental change and pests such as moth and carpet beetle. Much of our clothing is hung on padded hangers. The benefit of hanging a garment is that you avoid any creasing but as a result it can put strain on shoulder seams. If a garment is considered too fragile to hang, its put in an archive box and padded out with acid-free tissue to minimise creasing. Hanging garments have a cover made for them from calico, which protect them from pests.
The rooms in which our collections are stored are monitored for light and humidity. High humidity is a big risk for textiles as it can result in mould. Dehumidifiers will be used should humidity get too high. If moth is detected on a garment the piece will be frozen to kill any eggs.
Do you have any ball gowns in the collection?
We only have one dress that I would describe as a ‘Ball Gown’ though we do have many evening dresses. The ball gown we have was made for Duchess Louise in 1897 and was worn to the Devonshire House ball that she hosted. The dress was a costume based on the Queen of Zenobia and is our most requested loan item in the textile collection. Sadly it needs significant restoration.
Who else in Chatsworth’s history would you like to dedicate an exhibition to?
I’ve always been interested in Duchess Evelyn. She lived at a difficult time, through two world wars and when the estates were very short of money. She was well ahead of her time in terms of conservation and was a skilled needlewoman who repaired many of the tapestries in the collection. She devised ways of keeping objects protected (preventative conservation) such as making covers for the tapestries to protect them from light. We have wonderful letters between her and institutions such as the V&A and Louvre discussing how best to store tapestries. Reading these, by today's conservation practice guidelines she would have been right and sometimes they would have been wrong. I’m pleased to say she stuck to her guns!
I would also like to curate an exhibition that really celebrates the unsung heroes at Chatsworth – the people who have worked here. We have lots of archive material about the individuals who worked on the estate through the ages, often through several generations of the same family, as well as uniforms and oral histories. We touched on this with our Chatsworth Revealed exhibition with Anna Farthing, which followed the Master Plan and conservation work undertaken by the current Duke and Duchess.
Experience Erdem: Imaginary Conversations until 20 October.
You can also listen to a BBC interview with Erdem and Susie Stokoe published on BBC Sounds.
