For the first time in his near-15 year career, David Koma decided to take a beat and skip a fashion show or even a formal presentation this season. In part you suspected this might be related to his new duties at Blumarine: Koma came straight to Paris from spending Milan Fashion Week with his new colleagues there. Once we caught up in his Paris showroom, however, the designer demurred; he explained that he was cooking up big things for the anniversary in February, so for now: “I thought let me just focus on the whole range and quality and explore the magic that can be on the rail.”
That magic seemed to be casting its spell on the happy wholesale clients who were keeping Koma’s team busy. “There are extreme cuts, extreme decadence, extreme opulence,” summarized the designer of a collection that he said was inspired by the Australian photographer Layly Jeffress’s studio shot portraits of birds. More specifically, he said: “I chose the hummingbird for this extreme, hyper energy. And swallows for the sense of family and togetherness.” Less thematically but equally dramatically, there was a fair amount of turkey: today the so-called marabou feathers we see in fashion tend to be sourced from America’s favorite traditional celebratory main course.
A balconette bra and mini skort in fluro yellow was wreathed in a floor length feather trimmed tulle veil. A pale blue crystal fixed lycra bodysuit was worn under a sleeveless hoodie in same-tone marabou. This powerful hoodie also came long-sleeved, in pink. Koma being Koma, there was a powerfully defined all-evening section in black. A mini-dress was edged at the bosom with a livery of pink feathers. Slouchy-cut tailoring was accented with a metal chain that draped from the right shoulder over to the breast pocket; at its end was tethered an embroidered flower. Fashion more broadly is going through a moment of self-reflection about how best to express powerful, self-determined, feminine hotness: that’s a lane David Koma has been on for as long as he’s been a designer.