David Koma appointed as artistic director of Thierry Mugler

Young London-based designer David Koma will start as the artistic director of French fashion house Thierry Mugler at the beginning of 2014.

Georgian-born David Koma, 28, grew up in St Petersburg before moving to London to study fashion design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. He was an early starter in fashion: Koma completed his first collection at just 15 years old. In 2009, he won the Harrods Design Award for his graduate catwalk show and picked up the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Merit award for spring/summer the following year.

Koma’s signature item is a power dress with strong, architectural shapes emphasising the lines of feminine silhoette. The designer has acquired celebrities fans such as Cheryl Cole, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Alicia Keys and Megan Fox. Koma has cited Thierry Mugler as one of his early inspirations and his work for his own label often references the French designs from the 1980s. Mugler himself handed over creative control of his label’s fashion and clothing category in 2002. Koma will take the place of Nicola Formichetti, former stylist of Lady Gaga, who left Mugler for Diesel.