“Past, Present, Future”—that is how Serhat Işık described the collection he and Benjamin A. Huseby designed for their label, GmbH, to mark its 10th anniversary. While it might sound like an overused term to describe a collection, the phrase perfectly encapsulates their current work. After all, the winners of this year’s FCG x Vogue Germany Fashion Fund wouldn’t be GmbH if this collection—impressive as usual in both craftsmanship and aesthetics—wasn’t grounded in a well-conceived concept and delivered with a message: Berlin’s fashion history is very worth remembering, so that the resurgent appreciation for local design might enjoy a better future than it has over the past 80 years.
“In the 1920s and ’30s, Berlin was a major fashion capital alongside Paris, and the textile trade was Germany’s second-largest industry,” Işık explained. The Nazi regime destroyed not only this thriving market but also the image of fashion—with long-lasting consequences: since the end of the WWII, fashion in Germany has been viewed as something frivolous, superficial, and superfluous; the appreciation and cultural standing accorded to fashion in countries like France or Italy are lacking here.
“Ten years ago, that left us with no choice but to head to Paris first,” the designers recounted. “It’s already hard enough for people with a migrant background to make their mark in Germany—let alone in a field that isn’t valued.” By now, however, the perception of fashion in Germany is steadily improving, not least because a fashion house like GmbH consistently demonstrates at Berlin Fashion Week the quality that exists here—provided it is given the opportunity and a platform to shine. After years in Paris and Milan, Huseby and Işık returned with their show in 2024—a boon for Berlin as a fashion hub.
For their anniversary collection, the duo drew inspiration from the recently published book Modestadt Berlin by historian Gesa Kessemeier; through years of research, she documented the flourishing fashion scene of pre-war Berlin and highlighted long-forgotten names such as Joe Strassner, Johanna Marbach, and Uli Richter. GmbH also tracked down collector Julia Schwarz, whose unique archive, “Berlin Chic,” houses over 1,000 pieces from that era, and who made some of these items available to Huseby and Işık for the show.
Giving the collection the name, “Desire Paths,” the designers merged historical rarities with reworked best-of GmbH designs from the past decade—such as trousers with inset stripes, boxer-style shorts, over-the-knee boots, jackets with dropped shoulders, and fitted tops—to create a highly harmonious mix. The opening look featured a sleeveless jacket with a voluminous collar inspired by Berlin’s couture heritage—specifically, the collar of a coat by Clara Böhm (whose atelier was looted during the Reichspogromnacht in 1938, and who was murdered in a concentration camp in 1942). Such details added depth to a collection that nonetheless felt light and fresh, presented by a cast that was—as always with GmbH—stunningly good: musicians Arca, Alif Hilal, Julez Smith, and Don Jackoghue (founder of The Meetmarket), alongside fantastic models and intriguing street-cast talent.
Among the show’s guests were Işık’s parents, who sat expectantly on the transparent show-chairs in the beautiful garden of the Kronprinzenpalais an hour before the show began. “Even his kindergarten teacher said he would grow up to be an artist,” Seher Işık said. She recalled how her son loved to paint as a young boy, asking her to constantly buy new sketchpads, and how he learned to crochet from his grandmother. “We are very proud,” commented his father, Yusuf. Stefano Pilati, a close friend of GmbH, also sensed this pride. “Ten years ago, when they founded the label, we talked about it a lot. What I particularly like about them is their will and determination to pursue what they stand for, even in a climate that isn’t necessarily receptive.” Pilati is alluding to the strong socio-political references that have long made GmbH one of the most thoughtful and outspoken labels around. “Watching my friends succeed—what could be better than that?”
Maybe watching them not only succeed but also spark a conversation about Berlin’s fashion history—a dialogue long overdue in Germany, especially in a climate where art and culture are once again under pressure. The duo’s show notes concluded with these words: “We are often questioned on why GmbH is so explicitly political and lectured on how fashion should be unpolitical — this brief history lesson should be enough to negate any such argument.”
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