In just three shorts years, Croatian-born German menswear designer Damir Doma has made quite a name for himself in the fashion industry. After graduating magna cum laude from fashion school, he had the insight to head to fashion hot spot Antwerp, where he worked first for designer Dirk Schoenberger and then for Raf Simons.

It was his time spent assisting Simons that broadened and shaped Doma’s perception of fashion and the arts. Simons — a pioneer menswear designer who so eloquently mixes high fashion with street wear and did so with the precision of a master artisan — created a new genre of menswear like nothing we’d seen before. His atelier was the perfect place for Doma to not only fall in love with fashion, but to hone his craft.

In 2007, Damir Doma the menswear line was launched, debuting during Paris Fashion Week to critical acclaim. Like his mentor, Doma’s collection occupies a space all its own.

Have you always been interested in fashion?

I grew up with fashion — my mother is a designer herself. When I was a kid, my sister and I spent quite some time in her atelier playing with fabrics and drawing. My first real fashion moment was when I was 13 years old. I bought this amazing Helmut Lang raincoat. I must still have it.

Can you tell me a bit about your design process, from concept to completion?
Basically my concept and my philosophy is ongoing, which means that I never stop creating new material. While I work on one season, I already know what I want to improve and change for next season. The biggest part of my work is the conceptual period and the selection of my materials. This is the base of each collection and that’s why I take all the time I need to build a really strong base. Once this is done the job is actually quite easy and quick.

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