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On Saturday evening, David Koma will present his first-ever menswear collection at a gallery space in Milan. A few days prior in his Shoreditch studio, the London-based designer is relishing the prospect of his double debut — for it will be his first on-schedule outing in Italy, too. Gesturing at the garment-packed rails around us, he says, “Menswear is about exploring new ways of designing. I’m flexing new muscles and bringing new talents and personalities into the wider world of the brand.”
Koma’s category expansion comes at a hopeful moment for his 15-year established independent house. The Georgia-born designer says turnover has increased by just short of 500 per cent since 2020 (he delivers figures but requests they stay off the record). He attributes this dramatic upswing as much to human resources decisions as his own design instinct. “It’s about the team around me. My advisors on the business side and financial sides, internally with my design team, the PR network across all the different countries... I’ve never had the level of synergy in place that I do now.”
That said, revenues have recently flattened. “We were doing 25 to 30 per cent every season until two seasons ago but it has levelled out.”
Were Koma’s menswear to land with anything like the impact of his earliest womenswear, then it would contribute handsomely to his bottom line. In Britain, he hit the domestic headlines from the get-go, thanks to the enthusiasm of Cheryl Tweedy — back then the object of insatiable tabloid fascination — who wore looks from his 2009 Central Saint Martins graduate collection on The X Factor UK. Other early adopters who selected Koma for exposure-generating turns included Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Kylie Minogue and Beyoncé.
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Initially supported by the British Fashion Council’s talent incubator, Koma rapidly established himself as a hot, young maestro in the high-impact party-dress space. He continues to be well worn by a community of eyeball-attracting women, that today, includes Dua Lipa and Peggy Gou. That party-place supremacy has partly fuelled this new departure, Koma confirms. “I’ve never done menswear before, but I’ve always felt when I do my parties and events that I wish I could have my (male) friends with me too. This collection will allow that to happen.”
This interview doubles up as a preview for that collection’s review on Vogue Runway. Without dropping too many spoilers, it echoes Koma’s high-octane and fiercely structured womenswear while also moving beyond it. He says: “You have this concept of onstage and offstage; some elements that are super day and super real, and others that are adventure and fantasy. Whereas in my womenswear, it’s fantasy all the way.”
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One element in Koma’s satisfyingly synergistic set-up is the Milan-based Reference Studios, through which he is working alongside the also party-positive stylist Marc Goehring. “I only ever went to Milan for work before, however now that I’m working with Reference, I have my group of friends there and I’m coming to understand what a fascinating city it is. I’m always going to be a Londoner — I love this city — but there is a lot to discover about Milan.” He offers this as we contemplate a more fantastical menswear look: a jerkin made in metal-edged crystal mesh that references his most recent womenswear collection.
Perhaps the key player in Koma’s committee is Christophe Mollet, who he recently appointed as an advisor. Finding the right right-hand, says Koma, proved an exacting process. “Because if they’re too big, then they’re already tired. And if they’re young and cool they’re most likely already taken. Plus, it has to be like a date — you have to love that person if you are going to be alongside them. And Christophe is the one. He used to work for Isabel Marant and Margiela; he understands business and creativity,” he says. Another foundational element to his brand, Koma adds, is the excellent relationship he retains with his go-to factory in London. “The person who runs it is a former seamstress here, and we have stayed close,” he explains.
In 2014, Koma caught the eye of Mugler’s then owner, Groupe Clarins, which appointed him as creative director. “I was just a baby,” recalls the designer slightly wistfully of his three-year tour of duty at the house — “It was an amazing experience.” In 2017, he was succeeded by Casey Cadwallader. Koma has since continued to develop a sideline in consultancies — that contractually must remain confidential — which he has worked in locations including Los Angeles to fulfil.
Despite that moment of Mugler-motivated nostalgia, Koma seems entirely and enthusiastically engaged with this current project to expand his “Koma world”. He hints at several more new developments in the pipeline, and indicates that he is currently in discussions to secure a fresh, third round of investment in order to propel further development.
Koma continues to deliver A-list high-exposure eveningwear smashes, including his grand slam of a tennis-reference gown for Beyoncé’s opening performance at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony. He says a new capsule built around the sport (which he has been playing since he was three years old) is also on his to-do list.
As we wrap up the appointment, Koma says: “As a designer, I think I’ve established myself. But as a business person I have a lot to prove, and I’m excited about that. To do it, I’ve had to ensure that I have the right people and the right ingredients in and around the brand.” He concludes: “The fresh chapter that this menswear collection is part of is all about widening the horizon of the David Koma world.” From tomorrow, that world will encompass menswear.
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