GmbH: The ‘cooperation’ that exists as a medium for fashion and politics

Courtesy of WikiCommons

Luckily for us at UCL, we’re privy to the stylish streets of one of the fashion capitals of the world. Rushing through the streets of Bloomsbury, we can get a small glimpse of the London fashion scene  – sleek wool coats, North Face puffer jackets, and sporadic pops of red. There is no distinct style to London, per se, everyone seems to embody their own sense of style, or with Tik Tok being so prolific, rather their own ‘aesthetic’. In the western world, we have the understanding that fashion is a form of self-expression, with some variation dependent on the country’s climate. Thus, other than choosing their clothes according to their tastes, or based on what brand is most on trend, people may not attach much meaning to what they wear. 

For one fashion label, their mission is to subvert the current status quo to get people to consider their clothing choices more. Based in Berlin and ‘born on [the city’s] dancefloors’ as dubbed by Dazed , the brand is at the heart of the anti-fashion zeitgeist, with the brand directors largely drawing inspiration from their own immigrant backgrounds and the Berlin Techno scene in designing their collections. In interview with the New York Times, founders of GmbH Serhat Isik and Benjamin Alexander Huseby revealed that they source their materials from deadstock fabrics at high-end factories, allowing the rebellion and liberation felt on underground club dancefloors to manifest through their clothing in the form of tight tops and PVC trousers, certified essentials for anyone wishing to engage in their anti-consumption agenda. One may question how they can be campaigning against consumer societies by effectively producing more for people to consume. However, I would be inclined to argue that it is through production they are creating a platform to express their anti-consumerism messages, thus, pushing the idea to the masses. Their intent is further emphasised through their choice of name ‘GmbH’, which in German, means ‘cooperation’. The artists expressed that their desire to stay nameless is to remove the focus from them so that people are more inclined to listen to their message. 

Just through their choice of raw materials, the designers show how fashion and politics are irrevocably intertwined and how something as simple as getting dressed everyday can actually promote our own politics in ways we may have been unaware of before. This is translated in their most recent collection autumn/winter 2024 that was presented at Paris fashion week. The collection, named ‘Untitled Nations’ heavily drew inspiration from the designer’s multicultural backgrounds, with pieces being reminiscent of Scandinavian and Middle Eastern styles. However, the garments were mainly in the colours black, white, green, and red, and featured the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarves. Along with UN logos printed on hoodies, the designers’ pro-Palestine sentiments were apparent. 

With fashion being so heavily criticised for promoting over-consumption and environmental pollution, how is it possible for fashion brands to ever be apolitical?