Damir Doma’s collections have long excelled in subdued gender fluidity. This season, even the most cursory glance revealed that his men’s and Pre-Fall women’s collections closely informed and reflected one another. “Women’s was born from men’s,” he said, adding that these days, “it’s about trusting that balance.” The irony, in both collections, was that his idea of balance manifested itself as chalk-stripe asymmetric jackets and imperfect selvage finishes. But by using this jagged trim as a decorative element, Doma added dimension to the planes of his knitwear and softness to the borders of his shirting. Elsewhere, his approach to detail was more indirect and intriguing, whether highlighting the patterning of his delicate jacquards with a sulfuric yellow underpinning or giving the impression of wear and tear in a complex knitted patchwork dress. His use of embellishment is so judicious that each horn toggle or twisted strand of hand-dyed jute embroidery felt like something symbolic.
On hangers, Doma’s clothing often gives a false reading: flat with a downward thrust. On the body, though, a sleeve extends from a sloped shoulder and runs angularly around the arm; a roomy draped skirt held up by wide straps sits seductively flush along the hips. Try as you might to wrap your head around reconciling the disconnect, you’re better off just wrapping yourself in one of his double-layer shirts.
