a tribute: helmut lang

michael (sporting the knit cap) and nicole colovos (the blonde),
creative dir. of helmut lang
i don't know why i do it to myself, but i couldn't help but online window shop for the luxury clothes that i so badly want but obviously cannot afford. i stumbled across some helmut lang pieces and it made me think of his influence on current fashion as well as my own style. i remember flipping through my dad's gq's in middle school and my eye was for one reason or another always drawn to the minimal and provocative designs of the austrian-born american designer. his dark and straight leg jeans were light years ahead of what i was even thinking at the time (cargo pants and mock turtlenecks from what i recall), but the ease and simplicity of those jeans as well as his bold blocks of color and sharp cuts have greatly effected my approach to fashion now. something simple and functional but refined just seems right in our world that is increasingly cluttered and messy.

famed for his precision and ability to mix the linear with the deconstructed, lang was one the leading minimalist designers of the late 1980s and 1990s. his influence can be seen in the sleek menswear lines for narciso rodriguez and alexnadre plokhov of the now defunct cloak. recently, he sold his brand to a japanese investment group and has abandoned fashion, in the design sense, but the label was recently reinvigorated with the husband and wife team of michael and nicole colovos taking the reigns as the new creative directors. breathing new life into the lang brand is no easy feat as his silhouette (lean and mean) and aesthetic (neutral tones and sportswear influences) are so identifiable, but as i found while searching, it's not so much a retread or a completely new look but rather an evolution of what struck me about lang's designs at such a young age. it's strong and urban and damned if i don't want all of these pieces...


bomber jacket, $655


straight leg trouser, $285


hooded anorak, $680


deep v-neck cardigan, $160


mercerized cotton jersey t-shirt, $105


to give you a better and more visual sense of the raw beauty of lang's vision, here are some videos of some of his last collections. horse hair accents, functional panels, couture details, and carine roitfeld! enjoy.


fall 2004


fall 2003