David Koma has been rewatching the series “Mad Men” and has been plucking away at the ‘60s for his resort 2026 collection.
He fixated on the characters of Betty Draper and Megan Calvet for their extreme surface-level femininity and complex arcs.
“I really wanted to keep this idea of femininity as a weapon and play with the duality of being done up, while remaining strong,” said Koma during a preview.
What does strong look like exactly? For the Georgian-born designer, it’s an acid yellow twinset with matching dyed pearls worn with briefs and delicate white lace dresses that use laser-cut florals as suspenders or as ivy to stick to the body.
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Koma dove deeper into the ‘60s by also looking at the work of American artist Mel Ramos, who largely painted female nudes in reimagined advertising campaigns, one that perhaps Don Draper from “Mad Men” would have worked on.
A block striped tube top and ball skirt borrowed from Ramos’ “Beaver Shot” painting depicting a young woman standing with her hands behind her head and her underwear on show through a circle cutout. Koma added square cutouts into T-shirts and dresses.
“The ‘60s is an era in fashion, film and music that’s my secret recipe to all my collections. I always have fun with it, even if it isn’t too visible, but this time I wanted to go towards that direction because it’s futuristic,” said Koma.
The designer is diversifying not only his vision, but his strategy too. There’s a demand from buyers for outerwear and tailoring, but dresses remain the brand’s bread and butter.