GmbH founders Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Isik just took to Instagram to announce their appointment as creative directors of Italian heritage brand Trussardi. Their first collection will debut in 2022.
Huseby and Isik's aesthetics will be a complete change of pace for Trussardi, which has crafted an identity synonymous with classic silhouettes and premium leather goods since its founding in 1911. The GmbH vibe, of course, is pretty different — the Berlin-based brand's vision is distinctly rooted in underground club culture, featuring loads of bodycon, vinyl, and experimental cuts.
In a statement obtained by WWD, the designers said, “Trussardi comes charged with pedigree and enormous untapped potential. We were drawn to the possibility of building a house anew.” Their enthusiasm was also echoed by Trussardi's chief executive officer, Sebastian Suhl, who commented, “Serhat and Benjamin bring a distinctive and powerful vision to Trussardi. The team and I are profoundly excited to embark on this journey with them, in view of bringing a contemporary and responsible lifestyle experience to the market.”
Their approach to design won't be the only thing Huseby and Isik will be taking across to Trussardi, however — their staunch anti-oppression stance is intrinsic to the GmbH brand. As part of their announcement post, they wrote, "With GmbH we have helped bring topics of inclusivity and responsibility to the forefront of the fashion discourse. Our vision for the revival of the house of Trussardi will be founded in these exact values."
For example, when talking about their men's spring 2021 collection last July, Huseby stated that "GmbH is about: politics, migration, fashion, and beauty, but also queerness. Obviously, staging a fashion show in Sudan was clearly a very subversive political act. [The show aired Lars Laumann's film A Season of Migration to the North that told the story of Eddie Esmail, a gay activist arrested during a fashion show in Sudan.] And I think that’s the beauty, that fashion isn’t only just about nice clothes.”
