Fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu on the “ultra-cool” Truman Capote, an unforgettable villa in Positano and Paris’ Porte de Vanves fleamarket

My personal style signifiers are my glasses, which are by Oliver Peoples. I had an unfortunate pair of wire-rimmed glasses when I was at school but have worn this square-lens style in black ever since. oliverpeoples.com

The last item of clothing I added to my wardrobe was a single-breasted, double-vent dark brown wool suit from Prada. I never wear that colour but it was so beautiful I had to have it. prada.com

The best gift I’ve given recently was a wicker Basket chair by Nanna Ditzel, which I bought from Sigmar on the King’s Road. Ditzel was a Danish furniture designer, and this piece is typical of her elegant style. 263 King’s Road, London SW3 (020-7751 5801; sigmarlondon.com)

The site that inspires me is the Pompidou in Paris. I love its 1980s aesthetic and the way it juts out of that beautiful city as though someone had built it out of Lego.

A recent “find” is Dashwood Books in New York. It’s a small store near the Bowery Hotel with the best selection of wonderful old and new books on photography. I often buy two copies of books I really like. 33 Bond Street, New York, NY 10012 (+1212-387 8520; dashwoodbooks.com)

The last music I downloaded was by Benjamin Clementine. If Nina Simone had a son, this is what he would sound like. I also downloaded a cover of Send in the Clowns by Grace Jones. I have a very eclectic taste in music and discover a lot by listening to BBC Radio 6 Music.

If I had to limit my shopping to one neighbourhood in one city, I’d choose Dalston and Shoreditch, where I live and work. I love Donlon Books, which is run by a curator who sources the most extraordinary books from Japan; Sunspel is great for basic trousers and knits; and J Glinert and Momosan are wonderful for presents and full of really beautiful objects and homewares. Donlon Books, 75 Broadway Market, E8 (020-7684 5698; donlonbooks.com). J Glinert, 71 Wilton Way, E8 (020-7249 6815; jglinert.com). Momosan Shop, 87-89 Tabernacle Street, E8 (020-7249 4989; momosanshop.com). Sunspel, 7 Redchurch Street, E2 (020-7739 9729; sunspel.com)

The best souvenir I’ve brought home is an ofuro, a traditional Japanese hinoki wood bath. My partner Philip fell in love with it when we were on holiday on the island of Miyajima, and we had it shipped over for the bathroom. 

The last thing I bought and loved was a Jean Cocteau drawing from Tajan auction house in Paris. It’s a profile of a man with a lute and was originally scribbled inside a copy of the Paris Review in 1961, a couple of years before he died. 37 Rue des Mathurins, 75008 Paris (+331‑5330 3030; tajan.com)

And the thing I’m eyeing next is another illustration, this time by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, an astonishing Japanese painter and printmaker who was prolific during the 1930s and ’40s.

The last meal that truly impressed me was a breakfast of fried eggs, sage and anchovies at Rawduck in London Fields. It’s great for lunch and dinner, too, and very informal with long communal tables. I do love a good breakfast – I also recently went to the Hollywood Diner on Sixth Avenue in New York and had pancakes with fried eggs, bacon and maple syrup, which was perfection. Hollywood Diner, 574 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (+1212-691 8465; hollywooddinernyc.com). Rawduck, 197 Richmond Road, London E8 (020-8986 6534)

The grooming staple I’m never without is Odejo fragrance. I love the smell. It has something quite unisex about it and I like how it feels modern and light. £75 for 100ml EDT; libertylondon.com

My favourite websites are Sothebys.com and Phillips.com for art sales, and Invaluable.com, which links niche auction houses together on one site.

My style icon is the young Truman Capote – his nipped-in suits were very snappy and I’ve always thought he looked ultra-cool.

The best gift I’ve received recently was a full set of Schmincke oils from L Cornelissen & Son, a glorious art shop near the British Museum. I watercolour my fashion illustrations sometimes, but I’ve never used oils and I really want to find time to start painting again. 105 Great Russell Street, London WC1 (020-7636 1045; cornelissen.com)

An unforgettable place I’ve travelled to in the past year is Positano. I went with my partner Philip for a friend’s birthday and we stayed at Villa TreVille, which was once Franco Zeffirelli’s house. It is extraordinary: you enter via a door in the side of a mountain and take a lift down to this long, tiled corridor. There’s a beautiful living room decorated with hand-painted tiles and it still has the original furniture; it opens out onto this incredible wrap-around balcony overlooking the Mediterranean. It’s the most beautiful place in the world and so chic. villatreville.com

The books on my bedside table include Writings by Truman Capote, as well as his Portraits and Observations, a collection of short stories and essays from his career that includes wonderful portraits of stars like Elizabeth Taylor and a story about spending a weekend in Japan with Marlon Brando – I love his acidity. I’m also reading Sporting Guide, about Los Angeles in 1897, by my friend Liz Goldwyn, and Wilderness Tips, a book of short stories by Margaret Atwood.

In my fridge you’ll always find pickled onions – any type, I’m not fussy, though I quite like the M&S ones – milk for my tea, champagne, even though I don’t really drink it, a bottle of Gamay and some pâté.

The objects I would never part with are my parents’ photo albums, typical faux-leather padded books with yellowing, sticky pages full of memories. I have co-ownership with my twin sister but they are in my care at the moment.

My favourite room in my house is my bedroom, which my partner Philip has remodelled. The house is in Dalston on a square and was built in the 1860s. We have a huge window at the end of the bed with a built-in bench and bookshelf, and you can look out over the Victorian rooftops – it’s a real London view

If I didn’t live in London, the city I would live in is Paris. I’d have an apartment in the Marais, where Au Petit Fer à Cheval would be my local bar and bistro – it’s so typically French and a very intimate space to meet friends. I’d go to Comptoir de l’Image or Les Mots à la Bouche for books, and the Porte de Vanves fleamarket, which is my guilty pleasure whenever I am in town – you can find almost anything there, from vintage glass to beautiful midcentury furniture. Au Petit Fer à Cheval, 30 Rue Vielle du Temple, 75004 (+331-4272 4747). Comptoir de l’Image, 44 Rue de Sévigné, 75003 (+331-4272 0392). Les Mots à la Bouche, 6 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, 75004 (+331-4278 8830; motsbouche.com). Marché aux Puces, Porte de Vanves, Avenue Georges Lafenestre, 75014 (pucesdevanves.fr)

The people I rely on for personal grooming and wellbeing are Michael, my local barber on Columbia Road, and Margie Pope, Gergo Babgaldi and Alan Henderson at Body Studio where I train every week. I also run along the canal to keep fit, but other than that I am quite low maintenance. Michael Harding, 53 Columbia Road, London E2 (jb@lalaland.uk.com). Body Studio, 89A Rivington Street, London EC2 (020-7729 0111)

If I weren’t doing what I do, I would be a dancer. I’ve recently become friends with Lauren Cuthbertson, principal at The Royal Ballet, and I was thinking how amazing it would be if I could touch my toes. But that’s never going to happen now, so I guess being a vintage bookstore owner would be a good second choice.