DAVID KOMA FALL WINTER 2023

 

Glamour is a sensory stimulant: an enigmatic feeling founded in timeless atmospheres and images that draw us in with seductive force. In the contemporary arena of fashion and entertainment where self-expression is 

eradicating the conventions of the old world, classic representations of glamour continue to prevail: the eternal impact of a red lip, a glossy nail, a cut-glass heel, or a satin lapel. For Fall-Winter 2023, David Koma stages a study of the elements and iconography characteristic of twentieth century glamour. Embodied by Marlene Dietrich – whose radical dress sense interwove the feminine and masculine symbols of desire – the collection suspends itself between the grammar of two revolutionising eras: the icon’s 1930s heyday and the 1960s continuously present in the work of David Koma.

Sense-beguiling colours instinctively connected to glamour paint the collection: glossy lipstick red, regal ultraviolet, alluring lilac and lavender, and electrifying tulip yellow. Identifying dress codes and silhouettes that continue to resonate in our glamorous conscious, an interaction between the traditional evening wardrobes of women and men unfolds. The tuxedo – a Marlene Dietrich signature – is magnified to oversized proportions or slimmed down to fitted longline manifestations. In the process, the traditional smoking is sensualised through post-modern ideas of seductiveness: the hemlines of jackets are shortened while trousers appear in the glamourous texture of patent leather or as thigh-high boots. The classic men’s shirt is twisted into erotic shapes: a mini dress in shirting fabric, a shirt body in cotton, a shirt gown in silk.

Gradually, masculine influences transition into a high-octane glamour native to 1930s’ vaudeville. Cut in asymmetric silhouettes that play with the idea of the reveal, tops, skirts and dresses investigate the optical and tactile textures of glamour: liquid satin lingerie, crystal-encrusted knitwear, fluffy mohair halter-neck mini dresses, and gowns embroidered with ombré sequins that cascade from transparent to opaque. Three-dimensional representations of the same study abound in bouncing plume trims, effervescent ruffles, evening stoles interpreted in Mongolian lamb, and chainmail tops adorned with hand-cut leather flowers glossed as if dipped in red nail varnish. The image of the red nail is further celebrated in garments embellished in elongated red sequins. Oversized crystal neckpiece and closures on jackets nod at jewelled cufflinks.

Graphics and gestures associated with glamour embed the collection. The presence of the smoking jacket inspires a research into the forgotten history of cigarettes, which, in the late 1920s became known as “torches of freedom” to the suffragette movement, who objected to the vulgarisation of female smokers. The narrative inspires a collaboration with the jeweller Emily Frances Barrett – who has previously worked with David Koma – who encapsulates a modern-day smoker’s “last cigarette” into resin pendants as a memory of an old-fashioned symbol of glamour loaded with historical context. Nods to cigarettes likewise appear in adornments on garments and in the motifs of repurposed vintage motorcycle jackets. Shoes materialise in David Koma’s signature metal-heeled stilettos and in thigh-high patent leather boots with transparent cowboy heels.