Men’s – Extraterrestrial. GmbH AW22

January 23, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

If Prada started the topic of statement outerwear for men this season, then GmbH joins the conversation with a major tailoring moment. Serhat Isik and Benjamin Huseby are perfecting the cuts of coats and blazers to a couture-level dimension. Take away the wonderful and brand-identifying regal strapping and fur and we are left with a soft 1.5 breasted jacket with a high lapel that fell loosely and beautifully down the body. When worn against the thigh-highs, these jackets’ skirting generated kink, but worn against pants they were differently but no less potently seductive. Let’s not forget about the extraterrestrial elements of the offering, like the disturbing alien shoulders and this sort of out-of-this-world drama conveyed by the garments (very “The Fifth Element“!). But the collection as well covers something much more personal to the Berlin-based designers. As Isik explained, it was the experienced tension between power and constraint in the atmosphere of their religious schooling as queer teenagers that prompted this season’s examination of wearable Islam-specific pieces such as the taqiya. The calligraphic Arabic was adapted from the talismanic exhortations, notes seeking protection that Ottoman soldiers would wear under their armor: Isik’s grandfather would write these out for the men of his village. “I think it’s all the codes we’ve been playing with since the start, just amplified. So you have the club kid, the flasher, the man who looks specifically Muslim. It’s the most formal collection we’ve ever done, but I feel it’s also the kinkiest and sleaziest in a strange way.” This collection definitely proves that Isik and Huseby’s first collection for Trussardi, which will be presented at Milan Fashion Week next month, is one to look forward to.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Organic Forms. GmbH AW20

January 20, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

“We wanted to go back much further than just our heritage for our inspiration: to the birth of the universe, basically, when all matter was created.” GmbH’s Serhat Isik and Benjamin Huseby don’t pick one-dimensional inspirations, that’s for sure. They called their autumn-winter 2020 collection Ylem, after a term for the primordial sludge of the universe pre-Big Bang. What they did in the first half of this collection was present coat and pant shapes that had been very laboriously cut not to follow any precedent, the proportions of the human body apart. The shapes they came up with first in seam and drape and then with an interplay of mixed materials were interesting – a warped arm shape was impressive and apparently took three months to achieve. The jewellery, made in collaboration with Panconesi from different mineral stones, were a matching accessory to those organic silhouettes. In the second half of the show, the line-up expanded into colored patches and versions of the mixed link chain print (reminding DNA spirals) that had been monochrome in the first. Silk zodiac prints well addeed up to the scientific-slash-magic mood.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Spiritual. GmbH SS20

June 26, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

As Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Isik of the Berlin-based brand GmbH explained, “we have always talked about protection, but this time we wanted to make a gentler collection and focus on spiritual, or intellectual, protection.” Huseby and Isik looked to their cultural heritage (which is fusion of Pakistani, Norwegian, Turkish and German) and focused especially on the Nazar, also known as Evil Eye. Wearing an evil eye is a form of superstitious protection from misfortune at the hands of fate, and GmbH’s models were heartily armored in beautiful brocade evil eye shirts, flowing many-eyed silk shirts and trousers, T-shirts, and gorgeous dresses in intense blue and pink. Good energy is always welcome. The designers as well impressed with their clever tailoring that was just the right balance between formal and sporty. GmbH gets better and better with every season.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Exodus. GmBH AW19

January 27, 2019January 27, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

“There’s this melancholy that comes from always being told we’ve gone past the point of no return,” said GmbH’s Benjamin Alexander Huseby and Serhat Isik’s, minutes after their autumn-winter 2019 collection for men and women. The Berlin-based brand, that shows in Paris, referred to planet Earth and irreparable damage the humanity causes to it. The designers frequently refer to the topic of migration, and their conclusion – “leaving this planet is the ultimate migration, right?” – was starkly contrasting with fashion’s common sense of being distant from world problems. So, what will we wear at the moment of the global exodus? Grey jersey dresses and knits, military bomber jackets, tie-dyed, worn-looking denim. But, if you’re an optimist and think that we’re staying on Earth for a while, you’re more than welcome to turn to GmBH for the office-wear – made fashion, of course. Hammer and pick logo appeared all over the pants and puffer jackets (nothing says ‘work it!’ as this one…). Boys wore shirts with ties under sporty jumpers, while the girls walked the runway in cinched-at-the-waist blazers and masculine coats. The navy, grey & black colour palette was brightened up with a pinch of beige. While the utilitarian toolbox clutch might seem the next big accessory for men, GmBH surprised their female customber base with two evening dresses, intricately ornamented with floral and metal motifs.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Modern Dark Age. GmbH AW18

January 17, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

“We started thinking that the time we’re living in feels like ‘the modern dark ages,‘” said Benjamin Alexander Huseby, one part of the GmbH‘s duo. “How do we protect ourselves?” Together with Serhat Isik, the label that originates from Berlin asks important questions regarding global issues, and answers them with clothes. There was something very ‘protective’ about the autumn-winter 2018 garments the couple presented at an industrial, graffitied overhang in Paris. Chainmail tank-tops; dirt-bike gloves; motocross silhouettes; structural biker jackets. Some of the pieces were ornamented with meticulous thread-work. “We developed these embroideries as a coat of arms, in a way. We took this plant, a stinging nettle, which is kind of unruly and unwanted and slightly aggressive—it grows everywhere that you don’t want it to,” said Isik, with Huseby adding: “Which relates to this otherness that we can feel. The others, the immigrants, not wanted.” Although there was a glimpse of bold yellow (in form of a loosely fit sweatshirt), the collection was kept in greys, navy and melancholic, dark green.