“Andrew, Jeanne and I founded Trust early last year. We wanted to create a space in which people could meet, get to know each other, talk about ideas and realise them in. If the artist or designer wants, we also will give our input,” explains Darryl, one of the founders of Trust Ltd. and the organiser of the Liam Hodges presentation that took place there last Friday in Berlin. A small living room has been constructed in the middle of the white-tiled space in Schöneberg: a rug, sofas, armchairs, with clothing lying around in the middle and empty beer bottles around. Male models spread out, smoking and drinking; changing seats, lying down, getting lost in conversation. They’re wearing pieces from Hodges’ current spring/summer 17 collection. The furniture was bought by the organisers at estate sales the week before, in order to offer the Brit’s collection the perfect, non-perfect space.
“I wanted to create the kind of atmosphere that everyone knows, when you don’t feel like going out on a Friday night and instead invite friends over to hang out,” Hodges explains. If you know the designer’s work, you know that this setting fits his fashion like a glove. It brings things together that don’t really belong together; it changes them, disrupts their optics and haptics, plays with details in order to create something totally different. “It’s all vintage furniture that we bought. We were planning this for months of course, but then we created here on site within a few days. You can still see the mess around cause we were sawing and puttering around. But that’s exactly what I’m drawn to, these unforeseeable collisions.”
A soundtrack plays in the background that was produced specifically for this event by Maxwell Owin. Owin was also responsible for the mix at the Hodges presentation in London a few months ago. The word London prompts the designer to ponder about Berlin. “It’s one of the things that I like about Berlin so much. You’re given the time here that you need in order to create something. In London, you always have to keep trying to not get lost in the mass of creative people. I always thought when I was here for a few days, maybe I shouldn’t work until two in the morning every night. Maybe I should just go home, cook myself something, write a to-do list for the next day and then just go to sleep.” Well, this evening in Berlin definitely went on way past two and there wasn’t that much sleep. That much is certain.
liamhodges.co.uk / trustlimited.eu
Credits
Text Lisa Leinen
Photography Adrian Parvulescu