Imaginary Conversations will be a new exhibition this summer at one of Britain's best-known stately homes, Chatsworth, and celebrates the image and legacy of the late Dowager Duchess Deborah Devonshire, as well as Devonshire's collections through the SS24 collection of Erdem Moralioglu.
The exhibition “explores the house as a source of inspiration in dialogue with the Erdem collection”, famously dedicated to and inspired by the duchess. Visitors are “welcome to Duchess Deborah's world as they understand how the past informs the present in the process of creating a contemporary fashion collection.”
The exhibition will be open from June 21 to October 20.
Erdem is known for her often-grandiose ballgowns and more formal daywear, the kind the duchess may well have worn in her heyday as a style leader from the 1940s onwards.
The exhibition takes a journey through the Regency guest rooms at his home, Chatsworth, and “brings Erdem's process to life, showcasing the inspiration, artistry and tools involved in translating the life and legacy of an individual subject into a fully realized fashion collection.”
As the exhibition title suggests, “the process is very much like a dialogue; The stories are woven back and forth between protagonist and designer. The result is a collection inspired by Duchess Deborah's personality, values and passions, as well as her wardrobe.
It is certainly a unique event, as Erdem received permission from Chatsworth House Trust (the charity that looks after the house, garden and collections), as well as the Devonshire family, to dedicate his SS24 collection to the Duchess Deborah.
That also meant he was allowed access to extensive archives for research and development. The result is that archival fabrics from the collection, including historic curtains that once hung in Chatsworth, are reused and reinvented in the collection.
The result is an event that, we are told, “gives us a remarkable insight into Duchess Deborah's life and Erdem's design process simultaneously.”
The particular location of the exhibition also means that it is likely to be more than just a museum display. For example, the Leicester Bedroom “is a dramatic combination of large swaths of draped textiles from the Devonshire archive between mannequins wearing pieces from Erdem's collection that feature drapery material from the archive. “The interaction of the textiles gives the impression that the garments emerge from the very fabric of the building.”
And in Wellington's dressing room next door, visitors' attention will be “drawn to a single display in a glass case next to the Polonaise bed, Duchess Deborah's legendary and prized Elvis slippers.”
Additionally, at various points in the exhibition, large-scale projections reproduce the SS24 Erdem show, “immersing visitors into the heart of the live experience and bringing the fashion show to their spiritual home.”
Erdem said he “always wanted to create a collection about Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire and the history of Chatsworth. Her story has long fascinated me and I find the Chatsworth archives endlessly inspiring.”
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