Don't write David Koma off as merely the body-con frock guy. His favorite looks in today's show were the trousers—lovely, fluid, leg-lengthening things cut in both ultralight dévoré jersey and ultralight wool. "I love so many things," he said, chafing slightly at the dressmaker rep. "Draping, trousers, all the jackets. It's all in good time."
For now, Koma is working in the same vein as his last two collections: a series of dresses fitted to within a proverbial inch that crescendo over a tightly formed theme. This time, it could be described as minimalist sci-fi tribal—fierce but precise. The dresses were constructed with peplums of kiltlike pleats and fringe encircling neat waists and Polynesian tribal motifs, which were either set into dresses or on jersey dévoré so as to appear painted on the skin.
Koma's disciplined composition merits admiration, particularly for such a new designer. In fewer than 30 looks, he cycled through brief juicy hits of color that morphed into somewhat uneven experiments with 3-D beading in iridescent Perspex discs—a collaboration with jewelry designer Sarah Angold that gave dresses a reptilian air. By the end, those had been smoothed into iridescent sequins that looked like appliquéd insect wings. There's no technical quibble, but you felt you'd seen most of these ideas before. Perhaps the good time is now.
