S/S 25 marked a homecoming for design duo Benjamin Alexander Huseby and Serhat Isik. After choosing Paris as their platform since their S/S 18 show, the Berlin-based creatives behind GmbH return to the German capital to present their latest collection. A decision that not only reflects a nod to their roots but also a strategic move to reinvigorate their connection with the local fashion scene. After all, community has forever defined the brand, and with last season’s ‘Untitled Nations’, opening with an impassioned speech by the duo on the increasingly distressing state of the world, denouncing exclusionary nationalism and calling for open cultural exchange, it only felt appropriate for GmbH to return to the city that has always fostered their inclusive point of view.
Titled ‘Resistance Through Rituals’, the collection started with the question, ‘what would a return to fascism look like?’. Central to this exploration was (appropriately) the idea of uniform with opening looks reimagining familiar sportswear tropes through the designers’ queer lens. Skintight patchwork vests are paired with boxing shorts adorned with fringe while polo shirts are shifted at the collar into draped dresses, Frankensteined with peeps of sequins.
This evolved into collegiate dressing with khaki slacks and Bermudas paired with collared shirts, and hoodies and bomber jackets patched with the GmbH coat of arms embroidered with ‘Love & Justice’. The collection looked to be a subversion of the markers of masculinity adopted by today's alt-right, à la North America’s white nationalist groups in their polo shirts and khaki chinos. These codes of the masculine sartorial are challenged with crisp white shirts unbuttoned and cut out at the midriff revealing abs and a sequin bandeau, paired with half-apron layered shorts (dare I say skorts?) that embody the fluid attitudes to gender expression that the city’s fashionable have long adopted.
Huseby being Norwegian-Pakistani and Isik Turkish-German, the rise of nationalism and conservative ideals around the world rests in direct opposition to who they are not only as creatives but at their core being. Growing up within Muslim communities, adversity and persecution have shaped their worldview, making their fashion an act of resistance as much as it is a celebration of diversity. The show continued to blend references from their multicultural backgrounds with modern urban aesthetics and was a powerful statement of identity and resistance.
Still, even while tackling such poignant themes in today’s socio-political climate, the duo aren’t afraid to give a whimsical wink to their oppressors. A highlight came halfway through the show in the form of a pretty pink bow stamped on the front of GmbH-branded speedos paired with a blush bomber jacket.