Damir Doma

Parisian-based fashion designer Damir Doma creates elegantly understated clothes. Imagining each of his pieces to sculpturally reflect the movement of those who wear the classic, layered draped looks he creates, Doma has coined an individual Slavic aesthetic. Celebrated as revolutionary and widely commended by his peers and critics, Doma has quietly entered into the world of high fashion, willing his work to be seen, but not heard. He describes his work as “avant-garde,elegant,pure and simple with a beautiful dark side.”

Favouring a palette of mute and understated tones, the young tailor expresses a ‘Silent’ colourbase, also the name of his recently launched second clothing line, which combines grey, black and off-white. Each season Doma selects a single colour to juxtapose the ambient feel of the current collection's soft base. With such a modest approach to tone and shape, the designer's own personal visions are grand, and he consistently conceptualises his ideas in 3-D. Each angle and perspective is scrutinised to emphasise the purist and minimal ideals he is representative of: “l want to to dress people to look elegant, simple, pure. natural and at the same time sophisticated.” These skilful techniques exert dignified and regal connotations, intended for bold, strong characters. Doma himself imagines dressing a priest or Goddess when he selects and casts his models for each show. He is a designer defiantly refusing to follow trends, celebrating free-spirited characters who enjoy wearing cape-like voluminous shapes. The Croatian-born, German-raised and ambitious twenty-nine year old has fearless faith in his own abilities.

His Silent label is an extension of the original Damir Doma line; a simplistic version that bears the marks of his signature fluid aesthetic. He believes his clothes to be moving art “When I think of a piece of clothing I imagine it as a sculpture. I love when clothes start to move, when clothes start breathing!” Constantly exploring ideas for new Silent products to expand the line, he is currently working on a range that will also incorporate shoes, bags and accessories to complete every look. Clearly an entrepreneur, innovator and intelligent business man, Doma uniquely fuses his artistc vision and financial determination; scruples creatives are not usually renowned for. Enjoying commercial success in many a wide selection of boutiques all over the world, his careful awareness of the industries financial repercussions for less mainstream labels drives his work to be both practical and beautiful. “Silent is also a product driven collection, and in that way it’s more practical.” Stripping down more dramatic items, to allow for improved accessibility Doma's distinct creative vision allows for runway collections and prêt-a-porter pieces to enjoy simplicity without becoming compromised. Now, like so many other new designers, diversifying into womenswear in addition to his regular menswear collections, he hopes to encapsulate the Doma persona for both genders. With an already established female following, fashion crowds the world over are sure to be thrilled with the luxe looks he is delicately reworking as refined versions of previous more masculine looks. “Menswear was just easier at the beginning. At first l had to create the Damir Doma woman and I had to think about character.” With the soft and fragile presence of Doma now of notable influence within international high-fashion circles, he hopes to challenge individuals ephemeral ideals, perpetuating a new dawn of forward thinking individuals. His work is real, his ideas are almost existential and his ethos relies on his ability to create and communicate to open minded intellectuals. He is an inventor, an identity for those who want to noticed but prominent, unique but not isolated, respected but not idealised.