David Koma drew inspiration from the paintings of Tamara de Lempicka for his pre-fall collection for Mugler, which had a strong focus on tailoring.
“I wanted to do something very masculine, but with this kind of soft and feminine touch. And in her work I see a lot of it: the very graphic, sharp lines, but I read them very soft at the same time,” he said.
Jackets with a planed shoulder and curved waist were paired with wide pants — think Madonna’s suit in the video for “Vogue,” which coincidentally (or not) opens with footage of de Lempicka’s paintings. They were accented with silver rings and chains inspired by old-fashioned men’s watch chains.
Metallic studs and buckles appeared on everything from body-conscious knits to a black patent leather wrap skirt. Koma worked a mostly monochrome palette with shots of intense jewel tones, like the lapis blue of a heavy satin evening gown.
In addition to bulking up the label’s tailoring offering, the designer is expanding its handbag assortment with three new styles of its Choker line. Virginie Courtin-Clarins, general manager of Mugler, said the house plans to launch e-commerce to coincide with the relaunch of its web site in the second half.
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