The Art of Design

© Lauren Doyle / MFb

There was one dress in last month’s Go Red for Women show that really stood out for us. It was red, as per the show’s theme, but with two knockout details. One, the dress’ shape, accentuated by a blue diagonal panel; and two, the dramatic silk and tulle hat that finished it.

The designer of that dress, Miami-based Julian M. Samper says that his inspiration for the dress was the anatomy of the heart itself. The skirt bubbles out at the hips, exaggerating the feminine form and mimicking the shape of a heart. The blue panel further explores that idea. And the hat... “My muse is a woman from the 20s who goes on an excursion into the Everglades, and ends up embracing the Everglades,” Samper says.

© Lauren Doyle / MFbAn early sketch of the Go Red for Women dress.While you can plainly see the 20s influence in the ensemble, there is something boldly futuristic about it. The dress looks more Joan Jetson than Zelda Fitzgerald. Which, of course, is by design.

“I don’t want to repeat eras,” Samper says, “but I tend to look at other styles from other decades, and I see things that I like, and I try to move that out of its context, so I’m not doing it exactly the same thing.

“What I want to do with fashion is for someone to say ‘Oh, that’s so 21st Century,’ not to say, ‘Oh, that’s a combination of the 60s and the...’ You’re always inspired by other centuries but the idea is to move it forward.”

Samper moves it forward by combining many disparate ideas into a single design. Each design begins with a kind of mood board; on that board can be anything from a piece of origami to a particularly striking kitchen design. He might be looking for mood, texture, color, or theme. The combination of these things, when all is said and done, is greater than the sum of its parts.

© Lauren Doyle / MFbJulian M. Samper in his Little Havana apartment.Samper’s designs are so striking its hard to believe they’re made-to-order inside his cramped Little Havana apartment. He’s just starting out, still has a day job (as an art director at Miami-based Tinsley Advertising), and makes his dresses one at a time, spending nights and weekends meeting with clients, shopping for fabric, and playing with design elements until he gets a dress just right.

Samper, who grew up in Little Havana, and took an interest in graffiti and mural art at a young age, designs under the name KOAM DESIGNS, taking the name from his old graffiti tag. Like graffiti, his dresses are works of art not reserved for the superrich. At $200-$300 a dress, they’re an accessible option for anyone looking for something a bit different, a bit artistic, a bit futuristic.

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