“Talisman”
talisman | ˈtalɪzmən | noun (plural talismans) an object that is thought to have protective powers and to bring good luck • a person regarded as representing and inspiring a particular group. ORIGIN mid 17th century: based on Arabic ṭilsam, apparently from an alteration of late Greek telesma ‘completion, religious rite’, from telein ‘complete, perform a rite’, from telos ‘result, end’
Fall 2022 started with a deeply personal exploration of our relationship with religion, couture and sex. We have always talked about fashion as a kind of protection, of the physical and spiritual kind. Fashion as a shield. We came across an Ottoman soldiers undergarments from the 16th century. These silk robes intended to be worn under ones armour were covered by hand painted protective calligraphy. This mixture of religion, superstition and art reminded us of Serhats grandfather, who wrote these protective scriptures in Arabic for anyone that required them in their village in Turkey. They would normally be hidden in leather pendants (in Turkish muskas) or sewn into undergarments. In a dream the words Safe From Harm came to us, which became an affirmation we rendered in Arabic calligraphy created by Syrian artist Abdelrazak Shaballot, and printed on silk.
Another trace is our study of the codes of formal and religious dressing. Kaftans and tunics paired with thigh high boots become dresses when worn without trousers, exposing a part of flesh on the upper thigh. The faux astrakhan is from memories of older family members, a common material in many Muslim countries. So were the taqiyah, the knitted skull cap, also known as kufi, topi or takke depending on region. Other traditional codes of dressing came from the studies of details of mid-century haute couture. Exaggerated collars and cuffs in synthetic fur, exposed backs as well as jewellery designed by Nhat-Vu Dang using a mixture of stones and reclaimed jewellery plated in silver and gold.
The show was staged and filmed in the workshop of Brandlhuber+ architects in Berlin, with an audience of just 8 friends and no press. The video is a compilation of the documentation from the audience.
All images courtesy of GmbH
PR Agency Ritual Projects Paris
CREDITS Creative Directors Benjamin A. Huseby & Serhat Işık Music LABOUR, LABOUR is Colin Hacklander & Farahnaz Hatam Jewellery Nhat-Vu Dang Artistic Consultant Emman Debattista Linguistic Consultant Enad Marouf Calligraphy Abdelrazak Shaballot Hair & Grooming Dushan Petrovich Set Filip Berg based on artworks by Enad Marouf Casting Affa Osman Cast Alban Sacilé, Ayoub Erraji, Frank Wenzel, Jordy Ortiz, Luthando Ngema, Mouhamed Ndiaye Special thanks to Enad Marouf and Brandlhuber+ This project has been supported by Paris Fashion Week.