Born in Montreal to a British mother and a Turkish father, Moralıoğlu and his twin sister, Sara, grew up in a picturesque neighbourhood just west of the city. From a young age, the designer knew that he wanted to pursue a life in fashion. “I think it was [as soon as] I was given a piece of paper and a crayon,” he says. “Most kids would draw a tree, and I would always draw a woman. I understood proportions and drew waists, dresses and skirts.” As he got older, he would watch anything related to fashion on television and was particularly drawn to Yves Saint Laurent. “I understood that there was a world out there where people made clothes and that was a living and a career. And I knew that it was a world I wanted to be a part of.”

After CEGEP, Moralıoğlu went on to Toronto Metropolitan University (then Ryerson University) to pursue a bachelor’s degree in fashion before moving to the U.K. to attend London’s Royal College of Art. (As a new grad, he sold his first collection to Barneys in New York City.) He interned for

Vivienne Westwood, got a job after graduation with Diane von Furstenberg and moved to New York but ultimately made his way back to London, where he launched Erdem in 2005 and now lives with his husband, architect Philip Joseph. But it has been a long and often challenging journey. The secret to staying motivated? “Coffee!” he replies, half joking. I spoke with Moralıoğlu about Montreal, making his mark, his inspirations and his spring/summer 2025 collection.