MILAN, Italy — Probably as a reaction to the soulless flatness of the digital image, texture is a widespread preoccupation among progressive designers. The Damir Doma show today was all about texture. And volume. And dangling bits and pieces collected around the world. It was a soulful exercise in mixing and matching an almost militaristic sense of precision with the productive haphazardness of travel and spontaneity: an embroidered band on a shirt, velvet ribbon on a rather solemn coat.

Small, yet effective gestures that Doma always manages to handle so well. As the most soulful of gestures, he titled the show ‘Always for Love’. Menswear, tellingly, was far more effectual than womenswear, but that was really a minor problem. What the show missed was the brutally poetic venue Doma has so far spoiled us with. The place — a garage — felt a bit standard and empty. This, of course, does not affect the design of the collection but for a creator as atmospheric as Doma, it is an important element to consider.