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process helped me create my own foundation in
terms of design and direction.” There’s a sense
that Doma wants to protect himself, hiding his
sensitivity under cosy layers. His clothes are
like an embrace from an old friend, giving you
comfort, warmth and happiness.
ˆ
I chose white, because it
felt like a new beginning.
It was like holding a blank
piece of paper in my hand,
something very pure and
untouched
ˇ
During his last womenswear show back in
September, Doma decided to open with a series
of stunning white outfits, giving a clean and fresh
start to his collection: “I chose white, because it
felt like a new beginning. It was like holding a
blank piece of paper in my hand, something very
pure and untouched. White stands for spirituality,
which is important in my work. I wanted to
bring much more sensuality and femininity into
the collection. People often acknowledge me as a
menswear designer, but I feel the message within
my womenswear shows has become clearer and
sharper each year. I’ve had to learn the design language
to express what I wanted to say.” There’s an
organic feel to his clothes, which refer to natural
elements in a subtle way. Shades of stone, plaster,
marble and sand can be found in his shows, as
well as occasional dashes of strong colour. In
many ways, Damir Doma’s aesthetic refers to the
early 80s and the infamous Japanese wave, when
designers like Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto
and Rei Kawakubo changed the face of Western
fashion. Doma’s forte is finding the right balance
between all these elements and keeping in mind
the needs of his clients “As a designer, I have to
keep on pushing myself while remaining true to
my essence. Another thing I realised working
with Belgian designers is that you always have to
place clothes within a much broader context. It’s
totally different from – let’s say – the way Italian
designers work. Italian fashion is much more
about creating a certain look than addressing the
reasons why it should exist. I think the Belgians
gave depth and meaning to the fashion world,
which was surely lacking when their careers took
off. Still, one should never forget that fashion is
not art. It’s just that the creative process getting
you to a collection can be quite similar to what is
experienced by an artist when he or she tries to
come up with a new piece.”
Style
Needless to say, fashion stardom comes
with its fair amount of strain. And, even though
Doma is clearly not the excessive type prone to
give in to life’s every indulgence, he still has to
deal with the pace of the industry and the stress
it creates, “People always emphasise the shows,
but the most important thing for me is how you
get there. That’s the fascinating part. There’s
more and more to be done at the company each
year. I get more help now, but I also have to
be able to delegate, which is not as simple as
people imagine it to be. I guess it’s a challenge
right now. I still draw everything myself and
am not at that point where I feel I don’t need
to have that level of control. It’s different with
menswear, because I’m getting more and more
to this point. With the womenswear line, I’m
not there yet.” There’s something touching
about Doma’s humility and his willingness to
be sincere, not pretending to be something he
clearly isn’t. You get to sense the person behind
the brand, echoing the way his models look on
the catwalk, appearing more like individuals
than soulless clothes hangers. Despite growing
up as a kid amongst patterns and samples
within his mother’s atelier – and being backed
by Paper Rain, a powerful and international
fashion group – he wants to take the time to
evolve, leaving enough room for experimentation
and research “I turned 30 this year and
didn’t feel any difference. I guess each one of us
has milestones in life. There’s always this idea
that certain things have to be done by a certain
age. I don’t know if this applies to how I live my
life. I guess my work is not just about creating
collections, but also finding a language that can
be understood globally. I’m aware that finding
this is challenging and goes quite deep, but I’m
very excited about it. I feel so grateful I even get
the chance to do it. Not many people do.”
47
Every designer has to make tough decisions,
from the complete beginner to the confirmed
talent, which is something Damir Doma is
more than aware of. “When we started with the
menswear, we used to have our production in
Belgium, but ended up switching to Italian manufacturers.
Belgian companies were very strong
when it came to producing women’s clothes, but
finding strong partners for menswear was much
more complicated. There were also issues with
pricing and quality. We got a better package in
Italy. The whole production was moved there
eventually, apart from Silent, which is mainly
made in Portugal.” Besides some unavoidable
commercial demands, it’s obvious that Damir
Doma loves his work. In fact, he takes fashion
more seriously than most of us do: “For me,
fashion is always a very direct reflection of the
times we’re going through. That’s why people
should never underestimate it. It’s a confusing
period in general, not just in fashion.” He
seems to find satisfaction in dealing with several
tasks at the same time, rejecting the notion that a
single focus is necessarily more efficient “People
always seem to worry that working on different
things simultaneously decreases your creativity,
but this is not something I agree with. I tend to
be the opposite as I’m quite comfortable going
from one project to another. If you’re a designer
working on just one collection, you get this huge
sense of loss after your show and there’s nothing
else to hang on to. Coming back after that tends
to be much harder. This is a very good moment
for me. You just need to take a few days off when
your body tells you to.”
damirdoma.com
Visit thewordmagazine.be/radar/damirdomas for a
slideshow of Damir’s latest collection.