Irina Shayk opens Blumarine show in Milan injecting buzz into creative director David Koma’s debut

MILAN (AP) — Top model Irina Shayk injected buzz into Georgian designer David Koma’s debut as Blumarine’s creative director, opening the Fall-Winter 2025-26 preview show during Milan Fashion Week on Thursday in a mood-setting, sharply executed, shearling-trimmed coat.

For her second turn, Shayk wore a slinky sheer dress with a deep slit under a matching Navy blue shearling fur. In two looks, she encompassed both the modern, structural tailoring that Kona is best known for, and Blumarine’s romantic feminism.

Kona called the tension between the two fashion poles “dark romanticism.”

“The idea of dark romanticism really felt correct for this time that we are living,’’ Koma said backstage.

In that vein, the collection’s main motif, the thistle, represents the duality of “protective, but fragile; delicate, but aggressive,’’ Koma said. It is seen as a crystal applique on jeans, and as silver baubles that rustle on garments.

The structured garments contrasted with romantic looks in organza, chiffon and Georgette, set off by modern corsets, silver hardware and panties with the Blumarine logo written in crystals.

Koma said his dark romanticism comes “with a beautiful, happy ending,’’ Koma said. “Because with Blumarine, the femininity, the beauty, the happiness, it’s in the core of the brand.’’