GERRIT JACOB’S LABEL CHANNELS QUEER AGGRESSION FOR ITS AW23 COLLECTION “SCUM”

The presentation, centered around diverging combinations of youthful optimism and mature degeneracy, elaborates on the visual, material and conceptual codes presented in the designer’s previous collections. Brightly-coloured, bubblegum palettes applied to diverse fabrics and distinct silhouettes, become signifiers of the persistent duality found in Gerrit Jacob work.

The title “SCUM,” is personified in a youth-centric mantra that oscillates between naive exploration and jaded perception. In Gerrit Jacob’s unhinged neon universe, this jaded naïveté presents itself in contrasts between loud glaring imagery and traditional luxury craft. Within these double-edged sensibilities, navigation of identity, queer aggression, and insistent idiosyncrasy, appear as core themes throughout the collection – channeling frustrations of 21st century existence.

Inspired by his time working at the Royal Academy’s gift shop in London, the concept of ‘Fine Art Merchandise’ is an ongoing reference point in Jacob’s fashion practice. The idea that art should be accessible and proprietary, is a cornerstone in Gerrit Jacob’s range of esoteric prints and one of a kind air-brushed garments.

As an evolving dialogue between the designer’s growing community and ambitious vision for the brand, this collection realizes a “coming-of-age” moment for both, cementing Gerrit Jacobs’s place in the global fashion industry with fierce insistence.