Hollywood Looks With Contemporary Style

Shelly Komarov may be best known as a five-time Emmy Award–winning costume designer for the likes of Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry, but her current passion is her two contemporary sportswear lines, Komarov and Kisca.

Komarov has taken a step back from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to create her own fashions with son Dimitri and long-time family friend Dmitry Liberman. They are partners in Komarov’s 5-year-old business, which is projecting to increase its sales by 30 percent to $5 million in 2003.

The trio design and produce sophisticated prints and solid separates in stretch-poplin, double-layered chiffon and parachute fabric for both collections, geared to women 28 to 50.

“Each piece is great for traveling because they are made with fine fabrics that can be hand-washed,” explained Dimitri Komarov.

Shelly Komarov got her start in fashion as a costume apprentice for Russia’s prestigious Kirov Ballet and the Leningrad Academy of Fine Arts in Moscow.

Her impressive line of credits includes an Emmy for Outstanding Costume Design for HBO’s “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge” and an Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for the “Sinatra” mini-series in 1993.

The designer’s costume background is evident in current pieces such as a swanlike, black flutter-sleeve blouse and a classic blackand- white chevron-print collared blouse and matching pencil skirt.

Shelly Komarov insists that she is not leaving Hollywood for good. She still designs costumes for films, but she tends to stick to smaller films these days so she is not away from her company for long periods.

“My decision [to cut back on costume designing for films] was difficult, but having my own name and brand is more gratifying,” she said.

Komarov’s production facilities are in Los Angeles and employ century- old techniques to create what Dimitri Komarov calls “futurra pleating,” a type of pleating that gives the illusion that the fabric has been sheared.

Wholesale price points for Spring range from $49 for a crinkled tank to $79 for a button-up, crinkled-sleeve blouse; the collection is sold at Nordstrom, as well as Southern California specialty retailers Ilene’s in Westlake Village and Kitty B. in Beverly Hills. The company also produces private label apparel for specialty chains Bebe and Cache.

For more information on Komarov and Kisca, contact the Rep Et Trois showroom in the California Market Center, (213) 627-5400; Cohan Berta in New York, (212) 840-0600; or D.Reeves & Co. in Dallas, (866) 373-3837; or visit the company’s Web site at www.komarovinc.com. —Claudia Figueroa