Damir Doma .. Spring 2014 ... Paris Collections

Well, Paris is off to a brilliant start with 3 great emerging talents ... 2 of which were reviewed yesterday and the third in the troika today ... Damir Doma.

This very talented young designer delivered a very savvy collection which is the antithesis of so much that has been offered and by that I mean to say the collection of Spring 2014 is modern, chic, polished and very client friendly at retail.  Imagine that!

The collection has evolved from what might have once been considered ore school project than real fashion and has blossomed into a true collection that spans ages and looks.  There is great swagger and polish as well as some wonderful technical innovations such as what I call the “random eyelet” which turns out to be laser dots!  He riffs on a trench coast without ever really showing one and he adds a constructivist type of geometry to the clothes all adding up to great product.

The palette is decidedly neutral for the most part which is great for most and when he injects color he forces the eye to pay attention.  Once focused on the intense difference in color from the rest of collection, one wished that he has taken more of a detour to that direction and added the more structured pieces.  We already know he knows his way around tailoring and sharp edges but possibly a bit more diversity would have been greatly advantageous.

At any rate, he has found a fan in me and I will continue to watch and see and wait … my fashion Ouija board says great things ahead!

Damir Doma Paris Collections fall 2013

First things first, thank you Monsieur Doma for not opening your show with a black outfit as did about 90% of the designers over the course of the past weeks.  Thank you for using hose as a finishing touch to your looks.  Thank you for not showing oversized odd shaped clothes that critics seem to think is pretty and a la mode!

As I stated when I wrote the men’s review, Mr. Doma’s signature is that wide band of shirring he uses at the waist, neck or cuff; not my favorite but less apparent in this collection than it was in men’s. For my eyes it needs to either be refined or redefined so that it is not distracting and more mature in execution.  Okay, that’s my personal annoyance but it does not take away from the overall look of the collection which is beautiful day clothes for women who are not in need of screamingly trendy fashion.  What I mean to say is that Mr. Doma obviously has his own modern design esthetic and follows it without worrying about whatever odd trends are sweeping the runways.  His clothes are distinctive for that reason among many makes them extremely likable.

Standouts here are his impeccable color sense, the asymmetric double pleat front he uses in pants shorts and skirts, the soft layering and by that, I point to pieces that remind you of Ackerman and Owen, just less cluttered and more refined.  The tailoring seems to be rather good BUT what I found to be the most distracting throughout the presentation was the “Prada-esque” footwear … no need; for me it was detrimental to the overall picture.  **remind does not mean referenced or copied*

As a point of advice, I would tell Mr. Doma that he must more clearly represent what he considers to be evening as what was shown was not as well thought out as it might have been.  He had enough ammunition in his arsenal to translate some of its pieces to dressier fabrications but that aspect is minor and I am sure will be corrected in future collections.

Let’s say here  that “OK I am hooked for now!”  As the old garment saying goes… “You are only as good as your last collection” and so far sooooooooooooooooo GOOD!