“I’m working hard, baby!” That was David Koma’s opening line when previewing his most recent collection, just five days after making a successful debut as the newly appointed creative director of Blumarine at Milan Fashion Week. “That one really needed to look good so that all the other things I’m doing would be looked at positively, too,” the designer said, referring to his namesake brand that is now enjoying its 15th year in business. It’s a milestone that Koma might (might) mark with a catwalk presentation before 2025 is out—but since graduating from Central Saint Martins a decade and a half ago, he’s more than earned the right to step off the hamster wheel. “Every move needs to feel intentional,” he said. “The next chapter of David Koma is all about pure joy—which cannot be forced.”
Koma is too forward-looking to produce a greatest hits montage, but he did concede a loose tribute to the past 15 years, with his fall collection structured around three of his most recurrent themes. The first, “sculptural futurism,” was explored in velvet-bonded LBDs with discoid necklines—a reference to the 2009 graduate collection that first put him on the map—while oversized bows were hurled at the base of crinkled taffeta gowns, and molded pelvic bones protruded from Klein-blue stretch columns and superhero-tailored dresses. (A nod to the designer’s tenure at Mugler.) Koma’s second motif of “kinetic elegance,” meanwhile, came through in the aqueous drapes of a leg-flashing nappa leather skirt, asymmetric sheaths vine-wrapped in pom poms, reflective disks slotted within the tassels of a fringed slip, and a ruched mini dress with an eruption of lycra gushing out of a crystal-encrusted hip brooch.
A 15-year anniversary is, after all, traditionally marked with the exchanging of crystal gifts—an apt segue into Koma’s final touchstone, “surreal embroideries,” which materialized in craggy gemstone appliqués, while silk tulle dresses adorned with feathered clusters and bodycon pieces layered in matte leather scales paid homage to the polka dots from his Yayoi Kusama-inspired fall 2011 collection. It was refreshing to see Koma—who often anchors his collections around specific cultural figures—turn the lens toward his own creative output. As for what this might tell us about the future of the brand? “It’s bright!” he said. “It’s been important to balance these past references with a more avant-garde, fluid handwriting. The approach to design hasn’t changed, but our decision-making has become more precise, freeing up the time to do more.” It’s an attitude that will stand him in good stead for the next 15 years.
