The work of Helmut Lang

[excelsiom]

Noooo, that Beyonce wearing iconic Lang = god is dead!

Where's the hangup with Ms. Knowles in Lang? I was delighted.

[Faust]

Where's the hangup with Ms. Knowles in Lang? I was delighted.

Oh, look, Kanye West is back on SZ under a different name!

[tricotineacetat]

Don't know if this has already been mentioned elsewhere, but the Helmut Lang label recently announced very quietly the re-launch of their men's collection, now directed by Alexandre Plohkov. They claim that a good part of the pieces would be made in NYC and that the quality would be up from the first attempt of doing this with the Colovos'.

[drexl]

Don't know if this has already been mentioned elsewhere, but the Helmut Lang label recently announced very quietly the re-launch of their men's collection, now directed by Alexandre Plohkov. They claim that a good part of the pieces would be made in NYC and that the quality would be up from the first attempt of doing this with the Colovos'.

Aha, my guess was right! Happy to see this finally happen, as there were rumors way back in '06 of him taking over Lang.

For the people that were wondering why Plokhov's own line went from the sober, grown up continuation of Cloak to the all-out uber-goth stuff of the last few seasons, I think HL will allow him to further explore the strict, tailored side of Cloak's DNA.

That said, there better damn be a black moleskin overcoat in the first collection.

[Faust]

Aha, my guess was right! Happy to see this finally happen, as there were rumors way back in '06 of him taking over Lang.

For the people that were wondering why Plokhov's own line went from the sober, grown up continuation of Cloak to the all-out uber-goth stuff of the last few seasons, I think HL will allow him to further explore the strict, tailored side of Cloak's DNA.

That said, there better damn be a black moleskin overcoat in the first collection.

Seriously, how do you NOT do that? Iconic piece.

[ittalidaa]

Tilda as Gabriel

[snafu]

Oh, look, Kanye West is back on SZ under a different name!

HAHAHAHAHA :)

[interest1]

Found this mildly interesting:

Ellen Ripley’s Nostromo uniform in ALIEN, 1979 x Helmut Lang FW 2003

[ittalidaa]

Royal Air Force’s anti-gravity trousers

[Illithid Dude]

Don't know if this has already been mentioned elsewhere, but the Helmut Lang label recently announced very quietly the re-launch of their men's collection, now directed by Alexandre Plohkov. They claim that a good part of the pieces would be made in NYC and that the quality would be up from the first attempt of doing this with the Colovos'.

Where did you hear this? I can't find any other source online confirming this.

[tricotineacetat]

Somebody working in the commercial department of Helmut Lang mentioned about this to me. I also find it rather weird these news were not communicated any more openly in the press, taking into account these are substantial news for the brand (and a recruitment of a 1st tier menswear designer for this job).

[michael_kard]

Hey tricotineacetat, I recently found some men's clothing photos you uploaded from the FW05 showroom; I had no idea that collection was actually produced. Thanks a lot for sharing those.

Also, Plokhov sounds like the most appropriate designer to do HL menswear, perhaps even more than the man himself at this point.

[interest1]

Hey tricotineacetat, I recently found some men's clothing photos you uploaded from the FW05 showroom; I had no idea that collection was actually produced. Thanks a lot for sharing those.

Also, Plokhov sounds like the most appropriate designer to do HL menswear, perhaps even more than the man himself at this point.

I lol'd.

Nothing against Mr Plokhov, but listen: Christ himself could resurrect tomorrow and be appointed to the line and it wouldn't matter. Of course he'd have the upper hand at doing any bondage-nuanced gear, but that's another matter altogether.

Who knows, maybe mens will sell now that the womenswear has hit its commercial stride – after every 'on-trend' fashionista this side of Austria blogged life into it. If so, it'll be to a generation completely unfamiliar with Helmut Lang and, I imagine, to admirers of Plohkov's own work. Those who require the real thing in order to feel the magic will continue mining for vintage pieces as they've been doing. You can't drink the kool-aid twice.

[tricotineacetat]

I personally don't have high hopes for this newly revived HL menswear to come anywhere close in artistic integrity to what the brand was in the past, even more so taking into account how the women's line had been re-positioned under the Andrew Rosen guidance. Did anybody ever see the Naoki Takizawa-designed Helmut Lang? I think he stayed for no more than 2 or 3 collections, but I think he might have been the better choice than the obvious, 'fashionable' designer choice as Alexandre Plohkov suggests... His clothes were maybe more quiet, but they were very true to the handwriting of the original Helmut Lang story. Another designer who would have been an obvious choice to fulfill this job would have been Kostas Murkudis - One of Helmut Lang's most trusted collaborators in the 90ies.

Nonetheless, I also cannot help but point out how some of the Prada-era Helmut Lang wasn't exactly great, either. A lot of the fabrics and fabrication quality were more on par with Hugo Boss rather than the high-end luxury market (I would go as far as to say that some product categories from Uniqlo Jil Sander were on par with it). There is a reason why Helmut's market stagnated in the early 2000's while Dior Homme enjoyed a healthy growth.

I've seen those last few collections in their entirety in the showroom and while I look back thinking that the runway edit was beautifully rigorous, this didn't always derive into a similarly strong ready-for-retail collection.

[ittalidaa]

Pamela Anderson x Helmut Lang x W