GmbH Unveils Debut Sneaker Collaboration With Axel Arigato

LONDON — Axel Arigato unveiled a sneaker collaboration with the Berlin-based fashion label GmbH on Monday.

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Available in two colorways — metallic silver or patent black — the new style, priced at $425, was codeveloped by Benjamin A. Huseby and Serhat Isik of GmbH and the design team of Axel Arigato in London.

The style embodies men’s fashion from the past and future. Chainmail was modernized into mesh, while armored metal was rendered into cutout leather paneling. Axel Arigato said the armor reference reflected GmbH’s stance against racism and fascism in its work.

Most notably, the GmbH fall 2024 show opened with a 10-minute speech calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and a Palestinian state.

The sneaker release, meanwhile, will place more emphasis on the brand’s connection to nightlife.

Jens Werner , creative director at Axel Arigato, said GmbH’s strong roots and interest in music and Berlin was what drew him to a collaboration.

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“GmbH is a brand that consistently subverts the cultural narrative. Its striking body of work is confident and confrontational — reminding us of the wider social structures around us and both the beauty and the discomfort we find there. It was a joy to create this collaborative sneaker that marries together the sensibilities of Axel Arigato with the bold, defining vision of GmbH,” Werner added.

For the official launch on Wednesday at Bi Nuu, by the banks of the River Spree and underneath a U-Bahn station in Berlin, the two brands will host a one-off club night, aiming to explore the city’s subcultural nightlife, music scene, and the identities and talents within it.

The collaboration was teased as part of GmbH’s spring 2025 show “Resistance Through Rituals” at Berlin Fashion Week earlier this year.

The lineup included short shorts with long, playful tassels at the pocket and risqué, bare-a-lot womenswear mixed with tailored suit jackets topped by caftan-style hoods, alongside sportswear featuring subtly complex constructions.

Huseby and Isik, who served as Trussardi’s creative directors between May 2021 and March 2023, said the Axel Arigato collaboration granted them the opportunity to “experiment and develop a product that was truly different from anything either of us would have created alone.”

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