David Koma a good choice for Thierry Mugler
Another London-based talent has been plucked to lead a French fashion brand.
David Koma has been appointed the new artistic director of Thierry Mugler.
Koma, who hails from Georgia and was educated in Russia and London, launched his label in 2009. I first started following him in 2011 at London Fashion Week, and he really made an impression on me in 2012, when Miley Cyrus wore one of his dresses to the People’s Choice Awards and it nearly turned her fashion fortunes around.
The sleek and chic futuristic white dress, with a panel of iridescent pleating, was special all right -- and Koma has been getting quite a bit of exposure on the red carpet since then. On Thursday night, Olivia Wilde wore Koma’s long sleeve, electric blue pencil dress with plastic details to the L.A. premiere of “Her.”
Koma is a good choice for Mugler. His sculptural, body-con designs have that slightly sinister sex appeal for which Mugler was known. Koma also uses unusual embellishments to highlight a woman’s curves, including see-through plastic portholes and colorful fur pompoms, which echo Mugler’s own use of such oddities as car fins, nuts and bolts.
“For me, Mugler is the most extraordinary fashion house with an undeniably audacious heritage,” Koma, 28, said in a statement.
Koma follows longtime Lady Gaga collaborator, stylist Nicola Formichetti, who was artistic director of Mugler between 2010 and 2012. He and Gaga created a lot of buzz for the brand, but the collection never really took off at retail.
Koma’s appointment is part of a new global strategy at Thierry Mugler, which is owned by the Paris-based Groupe Clarins.
Mugler founded the fashion house in 1974, and gained fame in the 1980s for his futuristic, fetishistic designs and sculptural silhouettes. He created a series of fragrances with Clarins, including 1992’s Angel, which continues to be one of today’s top selling fragrances.
Mugler’s ready-to-wear business sputtered in the the 1990s, and in 2003, Clarins closed it to focus on the fragrance range. The clothing line was revived for the first time in 2008 under a different designer. Mugler himself is not directly involved in the collection anymore, though he remains as a consultant.
Koma’s first runway collection for the brand is to be shown in September 2014.
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