A look inside Erdem's new exhibition, an ode to the late Duchess Deborah Devonshire

Designer Erdem Moralioglu is set to showcase his craftsmanship in a new exhibition entitled ‘Imaginary Conversations’. The exhibition centres around the eponymous designer’s reimagined SS24 collection, while the late Duchess Deborah Devonshire acts as the protagonist of the display after serving as the inspiration for Erdem’s line.

As the exhibition’s title suggests, ‘Imaginary Conversations’ follows a dialogue. “Narratives are woven back and forth between protagonist and designer,” said Erdem in a press release.

The Duchess Deborah’s accessories and other items from her wardrobe, for example, are interwoven with pieces from Erdem’s SS24 collection. The aim is to show visitors that “the past informs the present in the making of a contemporary fashion collection,” said Erdem.

‘Imaginary Conversations’ is a dialogue between the present and the past

The exhibition begins in the Wellington bedroom, where mannequins wear garments from Erdem’s SS24 collection, reworked with archival materials such as antique textiles. In a cabinet beside the State Bed, Duchess Deborah’s cherished Elvis slippers are on display.

In the Queen of Scots Drawing Room, cabinets are filled with material that once belonged to the Duchess Deborah, including letters, objects and photographs that particularly inspired Erdem. A recording of the Duchess’s voice, used on the soundtrack of the designer's SS24 show, plays in the background. Large-scale projections of the show are dotted around the exhibition.

Erdem emphasises that the exhibition is a dialogue between the present and the past. The fashion house shared: “Imaginary Conversations reveals the biographical and anthropological power of fashion to collectively tell ongoing stories of people, time and place.”

’Imaginary Conversations’ opens at Chatsworth House on 22 June and runs until 20 October.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.NL. Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.