GmbH's 10th Anniversary Collection Revives Berlin's Fashion History

GmbH, the Berlin-based label founded by Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby, presented its Spring 2027 collection titled "Desire Paths" at the Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin, marking its 10th anniversary. The designers drew inspiration from historian Gesa Kessemeier's book "Modehauptstadt Berlin," which documents the city's pre-war fashion scene, and collaborated with collector Julia Schwarz, whose "Berlin Chic" archive provided over 1,000 historical pieces. The collection merged reworked best-of designs from the past decade with historical references, including a sleeveless jacket with a voluminous collar inspired by Clara Böhm, a Jewish couturier whose atelier was looted in 1938 and who was murdered in a concentration camp in 1942. The show featured models including musicians Arca, Alif Hilal, Julez Smith, and Don Jackoghue. Işık and Huseby, winners of the FCG x Vogue Germany Fashion Fund, returned to Berlin Fashion Week in 2024 after showing in Paris and Milan. The collection aims to highlight Berlin's fashion history, which was destroyed by the Nazi regime, and to foster appreciation for local design. The show notes explicitly state that fashion can be political, countering arguments that it should be unpolitical.