David Koma is one of the few designers who don’t linger on the ideas of the past, nor is he nostalgic. The muse of his pre-fall 2023 collection was American dog musher DeeDee Ann Jonrowe, the female record holder of the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Jonrowe’s attitude is of high glamour in a pink parka coat with a fur trim; brown suede gloves with an embroidered printed flower, and a brown fur hat with a pinned pink mandala-esque brooch.
“I’m always inspired by incredible women in mainly male dominated sports,” said Koma, adding that he was moved by Jonrowe’s strength.
In almost every one of the 50 outfits in the lookbook, Koma demonstrates that he understands his craft for creating sensuous yet couture-esque clothing. The overall lineup included cocktail dresses embroidered with 3D-shaped chain links; clean-cut gowns with crystallized necklines, which will also be sold separately as chokers; metallic slit dresses with soft leather tube trimmings; glittering black bouclé style coats and dresses; utilitarian shapes revised in classic blue denim with a corseted waist; sequined mermaid gowns, and skirts finished with a Mongolian shearling skirt.
Koma’s footwear was a standout this season as he merged Americana with Arctic weather in the form of cowboy boots with transparent Cuban heels and yeti boots in the same Mongolian shearling as the ready-to-wear in a neon green, buttery cream, gray and black.
The Georgian-born designer is on a road of expansion in the new year. He’s already ticked off footwear, knitwear and outerwear as categories to sit alongside his sold-out dresses. Come September, he wants to put more focus on his whole accessories line with a spotlight on handbags.
Koma, who is a regular fixture on red carpets along with his creations, is always three parties ahead — and the proof is in the names: Taylor Swift, Paris Hilton and Anne Hathaway have worn his pieces in the last four months.
Source: WWD