The signature of a new design identity

Rebellious perspectives

From initial vision to ground-breaking design in innovation and functionality, the new gb platinum brand sets itself apart from anything known before. The award-winning prague-based Koncern Design Studio has significantly influenced this new design language, creating a new »urban luxury«.

Photography
Ramon Haindl

CYBEX founder Martin Pos sat down with Jiří Přibyl and Martin Imrich, the founders of Koncern Design Studio, and merged their knowledge of industrial design. Three creative minds with a clear vision: to develop a new design language for parents with the highest expectations of aesthetics and quality. Martin Pos says: »The approach we took when defining the CYBEX design DNA was to find inspiration through the design elements of the past and reinterpret them within today’s context. This time however, the definition of the new gb Platinum brand was exactly the opposite; to bring the future into the present«. His goal was to create a design language inspired by modern, iconic high-tech design that simultaneously conveyed a friendly, elegant and intuitive appeal with a great love for every detail. With this in mind, Jiří Přibyl and Martin Imrich started to design for the already present future. The two designers, who previously had created an exceptional design language in the automotive, furniture and glass industries, were not afraid to rethink the classic rules of industrial design, such as the widely quoted term »Form follows Function« made by American architect Louis Sullivan. He suggested that form should always be geared towards its function and should therefore always submit to it.

From idea to icon

The designer duo of the new gb Platinum brand added another dimension to the cornerstones of form and function – fashion design – and decided that they would put equal emphasis on each. Design and aesthetics were to take center stage without compromising on comfort, functionality, and quality. This was the real challenge for the gb Platinum brand and the starting point for the new design DNA: to create a functional product that simultaneously meets the demands of modern parents for a stylish fashion statement.

Future perfect – high-tech meets design & fashion

»The gb Platinum brand is about contrast, and about representing this in a way so that a homogenous product is created in one flow. As a core design element for the newly defined design language, we chose Aluminum as a distinctive, accentuating element, in combination with softly shaped volumes in warm anthracite colours« said the designer duo. The result: gb Platinum, a brand that combines the best technologies, and a modern industrial design, with fashion. Iconic and ground-breaking. Unob-trusive and not over-the-top, low-key and not over-shadowing. Well thought through with love for every detail, special and of its time without showing off. The iconic, almost architectural design is not aimed at mainstream attention, but rather is an expression of an intentionally subtle individuality: a self-confident understatement – less is more. Jiří Přibylt and Martin Imrich, together with Martin Pos, have shown that when a group of like-minded individuals are driven to create something completely new, the result can be truly magical. This is what the new gb Platinum brand stands for, a multicultural and global brand without boundaries. A brand that declares »rebellious technologies« as a motto and thinks outside the box through a use of fashion, architecture and art.

symbiosis

The art of

Fashion photography
Patrick Houi

Still life photography
Amos Fricke

Text

The ultimate fusion of function, industrial design and Haute Couture. It is our passion for art and details which unite these worlds. Perfection can only be reached when these three ideas merge seamlessly with one another, down to the last detail. It is »form, function, and design« in parallel rather than »form follows function«. After all, these three pillars each carry the same significance. Following the slogan »Future Perfect«, gb is dedicated to creating products that consider all elements, even the smallest detail, during the design and development process. Our goal is to transcend all cultural borders and create a new way of thinking by fusing fashion and industrial design. Sleek contours, lightness, iconic elements – only the best solution counts. Our intention is to venture into the realm of fashion and take inspiration from pioneering collections and unite it with our character and with the best that technology and design have to offer. The result: unique products and icons of the future, developed for the here and now.

Masters of craftsmanship

Future of elegance

Under the slogan »future perfect«, the gb platinum brand has taken on the task of designing an ideal future. The goal is simple: to integrate perfect design into the lifestyles of intercultural bohemians with an affinity towards fashion and who base their existence in the today, living their lives according to the motto: the time is now!

Photography
Patrick Houi

Text
Vanessa Pecherski

We are talking about a passionate way of life, one that is not inhibited by nostalgic memories of better times but rather faces the future with optimism and curiosity. We ask ourselves, how can we influence the quality of our lives through the objects we surround ourselves with? As part of this search for iconic objects that become a part of our private and working lives, the gb Platinum brand offers design solutions with characteristics of modernity, elegance, technology and an iconic quality, that have come to define a whole generation: warm tones that harmonise with a clean tech-smart appearance. In our world, there is simply no room for boring patterns and outdated styles – aesthetics and functionality carry the same weight. An intelligent reduction is the order of the day. The flowing forms of modern design framed by precisely cut aluminium surfaces take on a sharp presence in any room without being overbearing.

The form

»Creating an image for the body, and reflecting the atmosphere we’re living in«

In a pragmatic approach towards the relationship between form and function, emotionally designed products increase in importance. We are at the center of this discourse, and view ourselves not just as consumers who add accessories to customize our appearance and lifestyle, but instead creators of an environment that truly represents our personalities. More than any other art form, fashion quickly adapts to keep up with technological advances, and it is clear that individuality and identity are the driving forces for designers. This is specifically why fashion, along with architecture and technology, has the power of abstraction and innovation, and has become one of the main inspirations for the gb Platinum brand. Distancing form from function is the main interest of designer Hussein Chalayan. He is someone who has always declared his art as a discipline that places the communicative function at the forefront, viewing fashion as far more than simply an adornment or cover for the wearer. He achieves this by examining the relationship between the individual and their environment. »We are working on creating a human image; creating an image for the body, and reflecting the atmosphere we are living in« he stated in an interview with »1Granary« Magazine. His fashion collection »One Hundred Eleven« (2007) was a ground-breaking examination of form. For the finale of this fashion show, he made use of micro-technology to create silhouettes that shifted their shape on the catwalk – the hemline of a floor-length, Victorian gown retracted into a 1920s mini-dress, small hats grew large brims and dresses tightened, shortened and were made wider. His adaptable designs convey a revolutionary symbiosis between human and textile. Issey Miyake is another designer whose conceptual fashion, although less technical, plays with intricate shapes and shifting surfaces even more. Renowned for his pleating and draping methods, Miyake experiments with unusual materials such as plastic, cloth tubes and paper to focus on how the body changes with the outfit. His designs for the HW-collection 2015 / 2016 exhibit a progressive look at textiles with a measure of inconceivability. For example, the honeycomb structured surfaces in this collection diffract the light in a way similar to a kaleidoscope: from each angle, and with each changing beam of light, we get a new picture. It’s as if our perception was nothing more than a constantly changing point of view: iridescent, futuristic and complex. These sculptural masterpieces by Chalayan and Miyake are the perfect reflection of the advancements of technology. The intellectual designs always manage to bridge structure with commercial wearability, and harness an incredible power of creativity and innovation from the dynamic interplay between adaptation and differentiation on the one hand, and the reversal of the mundane on the other.

Surface

»A dream of fabrics and nature moved forward through technology«

The Dutch avant-garde designer Iris van Herpen has distanced herself from simple experimentation with shape and form in order to direct her focus toward surfaces: »I think that structures are much more interesting haptically than plain surfaces. I myself like to wear something that triggers my tactile sense«, she says in the collection of interviews titled »Talking Fashion«. In her newest prêt-à-porter collection called »Hacking Infinity«, she cleverly toys with the convergence of these seemingly antagonistic stances. The basis of this is the so-called »Terraforming« – the transformation of another planet into an inhabitable one with earth-like conditions by making use of future technologies. In doing so she ponders some of the greatest questions of our time through a use of textiles. The desire to restructure our universe is expressed via hand-pleated geometrical shapes which adapt to the body as much as they frame it, while optical luminescent details create a polymorphous silhouette. Transparent, stainless steel threads are interwoven with silk, and circular shapes represent the boundless infinity of our spheres. She commented after the show: »The whole concept of Terraforming started in science fiction, but it has become a reality«. With this van Herpen manages quite literally to create new worlds for us, worlds that exist somewhere between pre-history, futuristic fiction and a fascination with our own dynamic present.

Function

»The revolution of merging fashion and technology«

It is impossible to deny that digitalization is revolutionizing the fashion industry, leading us to question both aesthetic and practical conventions. One of today’s biggest challenges is to merge fashion with the innovative areas of technology in order to prepare oneself for the market of the future. »The trend of fusing technology and fashion more and more has been apparent for some time and is very exciting,« commented Anita Tillmann, owner and president of the fashion fairs PREMIUM and SEEK, who brought about the »FashionTech-Conference«. She predicts that: »This trend will revolutionize the industry and redefine it. « A flagship for this paradigm shift is the 3D-Printer, which has already established itself in the fashion industry as a creative and practical tool. The technology allows an almost infinite degree of customization, of forms and figures as an alternative to blatant mass consumption, with applications beyond the catwalk that carry over into our daily lives, away from the idea of costumes and toward the evolution of wearable products. It seems as if the desired vision of the future carries a simple message: nothing is set in stone. What better object could set a precedent for both our fashion demands and functional design than a stroller, an accessory that allows parents to integrate their child safely, comfortably and stylishly into any situation in their daily lives? It serves as a symbol for what fashion has become today – something that transcends form-follows-function: namely something that offers far more than just a functional and aesthetic quality. It is about merging design with our everyday life.