Koma Chameleon
Born in Georgia, raised in Russia, and the toast of London’s fashion scene: meet the globetrotting David Koma
WORDS ELIZABETH WINDING
HANGING ON A RAIL IN HIS LONDON PR’S OFFICES are a forlorn-looking handful of samples from David Koma’s Spring/Summer show. Most of the collection, says his publicist, is halfway across the world, called in for magazine shoots in Hong Kong, Moscow or New York. Other pieces have been requisitioned by the label’s A-list followers: Rihanna’s a regular, Kylie has been a fan since last year’s Aphrodite tour (‘when she wore the top, she’s so tiny that on her it was a dress’) and J-Lo stole the show at the American Music Awards in November, performing in a skintight, glow-in-the-dark Koma creation, adapted at her express request.
Still, there are a few familiar pieces from the catwalk show: an exquisite black dress, inlaid with iridescent perspex panels, and an extraordinary fringed belt, made from butter-soft white leather and inspired by African Zulu skirts and Dinka men’s corsets. Beautifully finished and impossibly small, it has all the hallmarks of a David Koma design: bold and structural but also ultra-feminine, made to define a cinched-in waist. Koma arrives as I’m admiring it, unwrapping his scarf and full of apologies for the traffic: feted for his creative talent, the 26-year-old designer is also known within the industry for his impeccable manners.
Things could have turned out very differently for David Komakhidze. Growing up in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, the focus in his family was sport – and his father, a professional footballer, had dreams of sporting glory for his two sons. ‘I started playing tennis when I was six,’ says Koma. ‘My father was hoping that one day me or my brother would be a big tennis player.’
His eldest son, though, had other things on his mind, filling notebook after notebook with sketches when he wasn’t on court, and showing a precocious interest in clothes. (‘From when I was really young, my mum says that when her friends came round, I’d always comment on how they were dressed and if I liked their look.’) When he was ten, the family moved to St Petersburg and Koma enrolled in art school. At 12 he decided he would become a fashion designer – and that was the end of the tennis.
By chance, his tutor was a former fashion designer with a passion for the industry, who taught extra classes in fashion history. Fired up by the work of the great couture houses, her 13-year-old pupil submitted some sketches of his own to a design competition in St Petersburg. ‘That’s really how it all started,’ he says. ‘I saw the advertisement and applied, without really thinking what would happen next. Somehow I got through, even though it was for adults. They called me and said I could take part, and needed to make my collection.’
While Koma panicked, his mother told him to look in the paper for a seamstress, and his first collection took shape. Although he didn’t win, he loved being made a fuss of (‘they paid a lot of attention to me because I was so young’) and surrounded by beautiful models; ‘Since then,’ he says. ‘I’ve never stopped’.
At 15 he opened his own studio in St Petersburg, garnering plenty of attention from the press. Looking back, he says, it was a strange time. ‘No matter how grown up you might feel, at that age you’re still a kid. I had very provocative names for my collections and was doing quite sexy cuts, which gave them double the reason to write about me.’ He pauses, then breaks into a laugh. ‘Which I loved, of course…’
All that came to an end when he turned 18 and moved to London to study at Central St Martin’s – a decision he’s hugely thankful for. ‘It would’ve been horrible if I’d thought I was fantastic and continued, because there would be no base for my career. To work in fashion at a high level and compete with so many amazing, talented people you need to have a really solid education and background knowledge. So I closed the studio and came to London.’ After the BA he won a place on Central St Martin’s MA programme, studying under the redoubtable Louise Wilson.
Hugely influential – her former students include Giles Deacon, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou – Wilson is famed for her acerbic critiques, known to reduce grown men to tears. While Koma admits it wasn’t easy, he was undeterred. ‘The harder it got, the more fantastic I thought it was, and I appreciated every comment, every tutorial. Louise didn’t make me cry, but she did make me realise that if I believe in something, I should stand up for it.’ Under her exacting eye, his graduate collection evolved: a series of sinuous, body-con dresses, embellished with metal tubes, that won him both a distinction from the college and a Harrods Design Award.
Since then, Koma has rarely put a foot wrong. For the last three seasons he’s been awarded sponsorship by the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN talent scheme, while a sell-out collaboration with Topshop in 2011 proved his mass market appeal. Now in his fifth season at London Fashion Week, his showpieces have run from exquisite organza and wool tutus (each made from over 80 individual pattern pieces, and a technical nightmare, he says) to laser-cut polka-dot pieces. This season, his semi-sheer devoré designs, inspired by Polynesian tribal tattoos, were like nothing else on the catwalk.
Each collection has brought something new, but the fundamentals have remained the same. ‘It’s all about complementing the female figure in a modern way,’ he says. ‘The look changes each season, but there’s always a sculptural, 3D element within the garment, and a bold, graphic influence. If you put the collections together, you definitely see the thread.’
Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large at Grazia magazine, was among the audience at the St Martin’s graduate show, and saw Koma’s debut collection. Although it stood out (‘very body-con, covered in tubing and enormously heavy to wear’), the crucial thing, she says, is that his work has continued to evolve. ‘There are lot of strong graduate collections, so you have to be wary of leaping on things. Some graduates have one incredible idea, then never really move on from that. Although he’s stayed true to his brand ethos, David’s proved he can move on his aesthetic. He’s a very talented man.’
Talent notwithstanding, Koma admits the going has been tough at times. Although a new studio’s on the cards and ‘big changes’ afoot, up to now he’s run the label from his small flat in Clerkenwell. ‘He works out of a tiny apartment,’ confirms Rickey. ‘Literally four rooms: one room the size of a cupboard for him to take time out in, the other full of people sewing, then a kitchen and a bathroom.’
All of which seems a far cry from the label’s celebrity following, and the parties and premières at which his designs are worn. It’s the kind of free publicity that most designers crave, but Koma is characteristically cautious. ‘I’ve never analysed the celebrity factor too much, and it’s not a big thing for me – though of course it’s good to know that successful, beautiful women want to wear your clothes. What is important to me is that we work with certain people season after season. I’m interested in relationships, not one-offs.’
He pauses for a moment, looking troubled. ‘I don’t like anything that can give you five-minute fame.’
