It seems kind of crazy that Erdem Moralıoğlu has never turned to Maria Callas for inspiration before this collection. He is one of those designers that you know would have thrived in Paris in the 50s, palling around with Christian Dior and Cristobel Balenciaga. In fact, his FW24 show actually did bring us back to the 50s, to 1953 in fact, when Maria Callas staged a career-defining turn as Medea in Cherubini’s opera of the same name. As you can imagine, the outfits that were conjured in Moralıoğlu’s mind were opulence writ large.

As the models walked through the Parthenon Sculptures room of the British Museum, their hair slicked back in wig caps, one asked the question whether these women were on their way to watch an opera, or perform in one? Either way, they were all divas in their huge opera coats with exaggerated collars, ostrich feather evening coats in pink and rose, cocktail dresses in crushed taffeta, and pencil dresses with oversized houndstooth prints. If ever there were a death knell for quiet luxury, it was this Erdem show.