The buzzy Berlin-based label’s collections are growing more elevated, even if that means letting go of some of the underground energy that it brought to the scene at its launch as a collective. Which is maybe the point if Benjamin Alexander Huseby and Serhat Isik want to move their brand to the next phase.
The cofounders’ multicultural roots — Norwegian-Pakistani and German-Turkish, respectively — have always been a key ingredient of the story, but for this collection — presented on the balcony of the National Institute of Young Deaf People, overlooking rose gardens — it took on a more literal slant. The monochrome tailoring and sportswear pieces had tone-on-tone belts and shoulder straps that exuded the airs of a sultan or maharaja, like the opening look: a pristine white, tailored coat worn over signature zipped-front matching pants and shoes.
Injecting color shots, the belted silhouettes were repeated in turquoise, cobalt blues or hot pink. Summer shirts and shirtdresses came in blue chiffon covered with lamé metallic dots and intriguing evil-eye-style allover prints patterned simple shirts and matching pants for men or wavy long chiffon dresses for women.
The woke collection also had a strong sustainable bent, from the vegan leather accessories — including belts made from apple waste — to materials including bio-sourced polyamide and organic cotton denim and fleece felted wool.
The evil-eye print was also reinterpreted in a version embroidered with symbols and stylized flowers, bringing a rich flavor bordering on tacky. But there were also the less risky items that the brand is known for, notably the cool street-edged outerwear pieces such as a khaki quilted vest tucked in a workwear-inspired pant — only here worn over a pale pink silky shirt with a matching scarf wrapped around the head.