© LES BENJAMINS
Les Benjamins Fall/Winter 2022 ‘Herzlich Willkommen’
OCTOBER 10, 2022 → WORDS ADRIÁN GOMIS EXPÓSITO
PHOTOGRAPHY MARIUS KNIELING DIGITAL CHRIS PUTTINS LIGHT OPERATOR BIRK ALISCH STYLING NESLIHAN DEGERLI, ENLIL ISIK
PRODUCTION AVEC NOUS GMBH MAKE-UP MARIA EHRLICH MODELS EREN DEMIREL, CELINE DREWS
Rooted in the heritage of the brand’s creative director, Bunyamin Aydin, the Fall/Winter 2022 collection of Les Benjamins pays homage to the guest workers that rebuilt Germany after the war. Aydin’s grandfather was one of those many courageous people who had to leave their hometown to rebuild Germany. Drawing inspiration from that historical event, he explores the duality and multiplicity of integration and de-integration split into two stories: leaving Anatolia, his grandfather’s hometown, and living in Germany.
This collection combines the art of the long goodbyes at the train station where guest workers and their families would wear their finest tailoring and mixes the duplicity between the utilitarian workwear that helped them assimilate their new host countries, and the nostalgic elements of their home.
Reinterpreting that era’s shapes and silhouettes with very characteristic workwear and tailoring elements, each garment serves as an ode to a particular migrant job, from garbagemen and welders to factory women, tailors, and nurses. With that combination of the luxury-meets-heritage take on workwear, the collection features a wide range of designs and garments from knitwear, jumpsuits, pants, and Turkish truck driver-inspired vests among many others using a myriad of materials, paisley prints, and embroidered flower detailing with a gender-fluid approach. Guest workers from other countries such as South Korea, Greece, or Morocco are also given a worthy tribute through patchwork details on workwear and other meaningful elements.
“None of them spoke a word of German, so the courage and bravery they had to leave everything they knew were incredible. Their clothing was almost military-like in the way their clothes became their armor. This collection is truly an homage to what made me who I am today. I too have tried to fit in and assimilate. I’m questioning what it means to fit in, and what it means to let go of your identity,” says Aydin.
© LES BENJAMINS
Les Benjamins Fall/Winter 2022 ‘Herzlich Willkommen’
OCTOBER 10, 2022 → WORDS ADRIÁN GOMIS EXPÓSITO
PHOTOGRAPHY MARIUS KNIELING DIGITAL CHRIS PUTTINS LIGHT OPERATOR BIRK ALISCH STYLING NESLIHAN DEGERLI, ENLIL ISIK PRODUCTION AVEC NOUS GMBH MAKE-UP MARIA EHRLICH MODELS EREN DEMIREL, CELINE DREWS
Rooted in the heritage of the brand’s creative director, Bunyamin Aydin, the Fall/Winter 2022 collection of Les Benjamins pays homage to the guest workers that rebuilt Germany after the war. Aydin’s grandfather was one of those many courageous people who had to leave their hometown to rebuild Germany. Drawing inspiration from that historical event, he explores the duality and multiplicity of integration and de-integration split into two stories: leaving Anatolia, his grandfather’s hometown, and living in Germany.
This collection combines the art of the long goodbyes at the train station where guest workers and their families would wear their finest tailoring and mixes the duplicity between the utilitarian workwear that helped them assimilate their new host countries, and the nostalgic elements of their home.
Reinterpreting that era’s shapes and silhouettes with very characteristic workwear and tailoring elements, each garment serves as an ode to a particular migrant job, from garbagemen and welders to factory women, tailors, and nurses. With that combination of the luxury-meets-heritage take on workwear, the collection features a wide range of designs and garments from knitwear, jumpsuits, pants, and Turkish truck driver-inspired vests among many others using a myriad of materials, paisley prints, and embroidered flower detailing with a gender-fluid approach. Guest workers from other countries such as South Korea, Greece, or Morocco are also given a worthy tribute through patchwork details on workwear and other meaningful elements.
“None of them spoke a word of German, so the courage and bravery they had to leave everything they knew were incredible. Their clothing was almost military-like in the way their clothes became their armor. This collection is truly an homage to what made me who I am today. I too have tried to fit in and assimilate. I’m questioning what it means to fit in, and what it means to let go of your identity,” says Aydin.