It’s been fifteen years since David Koma founded his eponymous label and in that time has become a favourite among today’s pop stars with his bold propositions of seductive femininity. It isn’t difficult to see why everyone from Beyoncé to Jennifer Lopez goes to Koma for on and off-stage looks — the latter had Koma create customs for her Renaissance World Tour. Still, it was a different league of performers that inspired his A/W 24 collection.
‘The body has always been one of my main inspirations,’ Koma tells me in his East London studio days before the show. This season he looked at the art form of dance, specifically at the lives (and wardrobes) of choreographers Philippine ‘Pina’ Bausch and Candela Capitán to inform his collection. ‘Everything about them is so strong. Including their personal style,’ he says. ‘Together they really complete the picture I have in mind’.
In the 1980s Bausch helped usher in a second wave of ‘Tanztheater’ (the German style that merged the theatric with the technical). Koma tells me she’s long been an inspiration, with the dancer incorporating voluminous garments and sculptural set pieces in her performances. ‘She’s fragile, vulnerable and honest,’ he says. Similarly, he explains it’s Capitán’s expressive movements and flair for the dramatic that first caught his attention. ‘She has a cool way of expressing her movement. She also plays with a lot of modern technology while still rooted in classic choreography.’
Technology played an equally big part in Koma’s exploration this season thanks to last year’s ‘Thin Air’ exhibition at London’s The Beams. A showcase of digital large-scale installations from artists, including Rosa Menkman, Matthew Schreiber, and more, the immersive exhibition was a reflection on the relationship between light, sound, and space.
‘When we talk about performance we have to consider light, sound, movement and character,’ Koma explains. The interplay of all these elements became evident upon entering the warehouse space where the show was held. From the rafters, I, along with the other stragglers arrived just in time for the show to start, overlooked the runway where two installations of craned cameras stood. As this season’s Koma Girls stomped around the technological titans, cameras flashed and music blared.
The interplay of these elements found a synergy through the collection that was a masterclass in contrasts. Of course, Koma’s signature micro-mini silhouette played a prominent role with both flared and body-hugging iterations rendered in sleek bonded velvet and buttery leathers. Still, the seductive allure of his go-to found balance with louche-tailored trousers. A styling trick that was inspired by photographs of dancers wearing sweatpants and UGGs under their tutus between rehearsals.
Tropes of classic dance attire defined the collection with no shortage of satin and chiffon. The kinetic elements are most pronounced with Koma’s liberal use of marabou feathers, trimming everything from bustiers to boots. It’s a nod to German visual artist Rebecca Horn’s 1978 sculpture, ‘The Feathered Prison Fan’, in which a ballet dancer is enclosed in a shell of bleached ostrich plumes. While synonymous with showgirls, Koma’s use of feathers in white, black, and icy mint, harkened more to the uptown glamour of the 60s than Las Vegas. ‘I wanted to bring maturity and sophistication to our modernity and edge.’
The collection navigates the tension between the delicate and the durable. During my preview of the collection, Koma was quick to remind me that while rooted in beauty, dancers endure as much bodily pressure as any athlete. What every aspect of the show achieved was an exploration of that very dichotomy of dance and performance. ‘Balance is always important,’ Koma says.