Garment Of The Week: David Koma

Having recently viewed his graduate/ SS11 collection at Somerset House during LFW (where he was sponsored by NEWGEN), I couldn't not write about David Koma for GOTW. After studying fine art in St Petersburg where he showed his first collection aged just 15, Koma later studied at CSM where his name became synonymous with body-con.

Favouring heavily embellished statement dresses which have unsurprsingly caught the eye of red carpet heavyweights; Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Megan Fox and Alicia Keys (to name but a few) – Koma is fast establishing himself as a fashion force to be reckoned with.

Already a household name at the tender age of 25, Koma is inspired by the works of Geoffrey Beene and Thierry Mugler, exploring masterful, heavy techniques to create uniqie forms of embellishment season after season. Currently stocked in Topshop as a collaboration for SS11, Koma's strong, architectural shapes evoke empowerment, are incredibly sexy, and with this diffusion range – are affordable too!

LFW Diary AW11: Felicity Brown

A designer whom I’d heard great things about last season through Fashion East’s talent platform; Felicity Brown is certainly ‘one to watch’. Her inaugural collection for SS11 featured a plethora of hand-dyed silks and ruffled dresses, inspired by Japanese origami, Bedouin women, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s paintings of showy girls in disheveled, provoking dresses, as well as her own study of flowers – creating an overtly feminine collection with layering at its core.

Repeating her signature design aesthetic for AW11, the NEWGEN sponsored designer really caught my eye during LFW, incorporating what looked to be subtle tribal prints to great effect. First spotted during her Royal College of Art graduate show – from which the collection was selected to be exhibited at Sotheby’s of London - Brown went on to design for Alberta Ferretti, Loewe, Mulberry and Lanvin before setting up her own label based in Brick Lane. Highly influenced by tribal designs from around the world, Brown told Vogue.com: “I like looking at tribal costumes from all over the world and the way tribes mark themselves. I find that much more fascinating than minimal tailoring. I made each individual piece that forms each dress separately. At the last minute I smashed it all together and that was it.”

Christopher Raeburn wins NEWGEN sponsorship for LFW in February