David Koma is easing just fine into the Milanese work hard/weekend harder lifestyle that the city’s proximity to beaches, lakes, and mountains has turned into a sort of competitive sport. By Friday, Milan is a ghost town , and the fashion playbook flips accordingly: suits off, swimwear on. “Italians have this great on-the-go style, a mindset that seamlessly switches from on-duty to off-duty chic,” he noted on a Zoom call from his studio in rainy London. No wonder he waxed nostalgic about his trip to Stromboli, where the Blumarine resort lookbook was shot.
Koma is casting Blumarine in a ‘dark romantic’ light, a far cry from its frilly, flirty past. After dabbling in the mood for fall, he doubled down here, channeling the sultry spirit of Helmut Newton’s ’90s campaigns for the brand—more femme fatale than frivolous ingénue. “I wanted to add a refined eroticism and emotional maturity to the Blumarine woman,” he said. With the volcanic black sands and jagged rocks of Stromboli as backdrop, the drama was dialed up, giving the ‘boardroom-to-beach’ collection a high-voltage charge.
Known for his affinity for structure, Koma introduced some sharp tailoring into this summer’s remix, even crafting blazers in white terry cloth, that were paired with sarong-style skirts—easily unwrapped to reveal a bikini the moment a Friday business meeting gives way to a poolside situation. Zebra print emerged as the animalier motif of choice, rendered in bold black and white on crinkled chiffon minidresses for maximum graphic impact. The brand’s rose motif was swapped for the fierce agave flower, a resilient native of Stromboli; the signature girly BluVi cardigan turned up in a sheer nude yarn with a feather-trimmed collar, while flesh-toned stretch lace clung to body-hugging tube dresses and second-skin tops, playing with notions of exposure and “the illusion of nudity.”
Once you’ve left the boardroom and the spreadsheets behind, why settle for the expected terry-cloth robe? Instead, wrap yourself in an extravagant white sheepskin fur, treated with the glamour of vintage fox. “I do love using fur, even in summertime,” said Koma. “It’s so modern and dramatic—it’s my idea of luxury.” Against the dark volcanic rocks of Stromboli, it would make for a striking contrast. The island’s magnetic pull has clearly cast its spell on him.
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