Erdem Turns Fantasy into Reality For Spring/Summer 2026
Erdem calls on the spirit of Hélène Smith, a Swiss medium from the late 19th century, whose trances transcended the physical realm for their Spring Summer 2026 collection.
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Smith held a truth within herself that she had lived multiple lives such of that as a member of the French court, an Indian princess, and as an explorer of Martian skies. A psychologist by the name of Théodore Flournoy called these incarnations of hers the Romantic Cycles. Hourglass mini dresses reflect timeless shapes while covered in collaged antique lace remnants, with jet crystal embroidered symbols; old meets new and new becomes old once again, a feeling of time being frozen and adequately explored.
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Though Smith’s visions were often discredited, the dreamlike sequences that transpired reveal the psyche of a woman continually reinventing herself through her art. With multiplicity at the core, identities exist simultaneously, becoming fractured by reality and reassembled by way of imagination.
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Erdem presents a physical meditation on this shifting sense of self, embracing the contradictions of reality and fantasy which always leads to an actualization, whether it is fleeting or held forever in a work of art. Most of all, it reflects the many facets of femininity which can never be shaved down to one story.
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This collection is fluid and expressive like Hélène Smith herself, insisting on showing the multitudes of her story of womanhood. The myth of her existence was created through her own visions while also causing her undoing. The collection establishes reality as the creation of ourselves.
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Black cotton yarn that is hand-crocheted into a dress and black grain de poudre tailored into a single-breasted tuxedo jacket provide a duality to the playful ways that colors come together. The looks are not only decorated with crystal symbol embellishments or lace, but with a masculine essence that kisses the feminine narrative gently and with love. Monarch, mystic, Martian – a woman is never one thing, just as Hélène Smith knew to be true.
Article by Seana Watson, Associate Fashion Editor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
*All images courtesy of Erdem
Casting—Ben Grimes
Music—Lukas Heerich
Makeup—Fara Homidi for Fara Homidi Beauty
Hair—Anna Cofone for Authentic Beauty Concept
Skincare—myBlend
Nails—Joely Frain for Glossify
Stationery—Smythson
Undergarments—Commando
Production—OBO
Video—InDigital
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