Ructions over British Museum catwalk

Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour soon found her seat in the front row, as did actors Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas. It was not the first time that Erdem Moralioglu had invited such A-listers to the British Museum for one of his runway shows at London Fashion Week. In an earlier edition of the premier fashion event, he had presented a collection inspired by the notion of restoration - in a different part of the museum. This time, though, the runway show was in the Duveen Gallery, among the Parthenon Marbles, a space laden with symbolism and at the epicenter of an ongoing historical, political and cultural controversy for the reunification of the ancient Greek sculptures.

The Erdem Fall Winter 2024-25 collection was dedicated to Maria Callas, and specifically to the famed Greek soprano's performance in the title role of Luigi Cherubini's "Medea" in 1953. As soon as the...