David Koma’s pre-fall 2024 collection, inspired by Truman Capote’s swans, arrives at an appropriate time just as “Feud: Capote vs. Ryan Murphy's The Swans premieres January 31.
The Georgia-born designer flirted with the idea of extravagance and opulence in a sleek, elegant line that played with a few tropes: bows and swan feathers.
“I wasn't attached to any of the characters in particular,” Koma said in a previous interview, explaining that he came across an image of Marlene Dietrich in a swan dress designed by his long-time collaborator and costume designer Travis Banton at a party. Hollywood costumes. in 1935 (Dietrich was no Capote Swan, who led New York high society in the '60s and '70s).
Long black halterneck dresses featured crystallized embellishments; Red and white silk lace added a touch of softness to Koma's elegant and sexy designs; hand-drawn swan wings were embroidered onto sheer tulle with reflective plexiglass and crystals; Knotted arches joined the pieces together, figuratively and literally.
Sequins were woven into the monochrome tweed pieces to give them that extra sparkle.
“I really wanted to have this film terminology and make it very, very feminine. There is pure white, different shades of gray and dusty pink as a representation of her fiery and scandalous character. [life]”Koma said.
The designer's latest collections have featured the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, the ancient Greek goddesses Aphrodite and Amphitrite, and Dietrich. The coincidence was not conscious but a natural progression of ideas.
“All the ideas are close to each other and then once I was researching royalty, I moved on to the safest and most elegant bird on Earth, the swan,” Koma said.
