Helmut Lang travesty

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by Luc-Emmanuel

It's probably a creation of the meister himself. Not far from the bondage pants we saw a few seasons ago.

!luc

I'd bet you Euros to Dollars that Luc is correct. Some Helmut Lang catwalk pieces are pretty out there. We just usually don't have to endure them on actual people.

 

[GreyFlannelMan]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

I'd bet you Euros to Dollars that Luc is correct. Some Helmut Lang catwalk pieces are pretty out there. We just usually don't have to endure them on actual people.

True, HL could be a bit wacky on the catwalk. But I just don't want to believe it....

The only real way of knowing is a) determining the last collection that HL actually had a hand in, and b) determining when this monstrosity was released.

 

[Get Smart]

At least you can just hose it off when it gets *soiled* and not worry about shrinkage or waiting 6 months before the first hose.

 

[hermes]

it was either from the s/s 2003 or the s/s 2005 collections

s/s 2003 he did a lot of plastic see-through rain jackety things:

http://www.gqstyle.com/TheCollection...&ShowType=Mens

s/s 2005 he did the same thing but i did find the specific pants:

http://www.gqstyle.com/TheCollection...&ShowType=Mens

and helmut had a hand in both of those collections ......

 

[tiger02]

Well you don't get much more minimalist than, uh, clear, do you? No color at all?

 

[Brian SD]

Does not-HL HL exist? I thought Jil Sander was going to continue, but the HL label was kaput.

 

[hermes]

briansd, you likey missed this thread re helmut lang being sold to the theory group in tokyo:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=12653

since that posting, i have read that the president of link theory holdings met with helmut lang prior to the annoucement of their purchase and that he was totally open to having helmut lang rejoin the label but that nothing had yet been confirmed one way or the other and that they were actively looking still for a designer

i have read elsewhere that helmut himself may never design clothing again and may move on to other creative projects; i guess the whole prada experience left a bad taste in his mouth

 

[Babar]

Originally Posted by Brian SD

Does not-HL HL exist? I thought Jil Sander was going to continue, but the HL label was kaput.
The last collection was F/W 05, and he was definitely hands-on with that as he left in the spring the same year (though there was very little new in it).

 

[berlin report]

Originally Posted by Luc-Emmanuel

It's probably a creation of the meister himself. Not far from the bondage pants we saw a few seasons ago.

!luc

I'm afraid I have to agree. There were some pieces from his last three or four seasons that were definitely as unwearable as this.

 

[GreyFlannelMan]

Originally Posted by hermes

it was either from the s/s 2003 or the s/s 2005 collections

s/s 2003 he did a lot of plastic see-through rain jackety things:


s/s 2005 he did the same thing but i did find the specific pants:


and helmut had a hand in both of those collections ......

Thanks for that info. Could it be that he hated Prada so much that he was taking the piss with these?

j/k

I guess one tends to forget about the questionable designs from a favorite designer....Let's just hope that when (if?) HL re-emerges on the scene that he has purged himself of stuff like that!

 

[rach2jlc]

These pants WERE designed by Helmut Lang when he was still director of his eponymous label. They were from s/s 2005, which was the last Spring collection he designed.

I thought they were ugly myself, I must admit... but Lang always like to experiment with materials and conceptions of men's dress. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. This is the latter, I'm afraid (but, other times, he also experimted with inside/out trousers, bondage trousers, he was one of the first to do overpainting, etc.)

John

 

[tweedlesinpink]

i think they work insofar as they're meant to be more art than life?

 

[rach2jlc]

I think that you're right about that. Lang always put a few such items into the show; they were always for sale in the shops but never really were intended to be "hot items." Rather, they were just experiments, ideas that Helmut had. Like s/s 2004's tank-tops and tees with the "peekaboo" holes cut all over (on the sides, on the nipples, etc.). Certainly, these weren't items that were meant to fly off the shelves, but were just interesting art-like ideas.

This is part of the reason why he had such a bad relationship with Prada and why his brand under Prada was never financially solvent; because he didn't have a GUARANTEED hot seller (like an "it" bag or pair of shoes) for each season, these "art" elements of his collection lowered sales. Prada tried to compensate for this by over-producing his jeans and tee-shirts, but this backfired on them because there were always tons left over that could be obtained for $50 or less by customers on markdown. So, who would pay $275 for them?

Also, another way designers make enough money to compensate their artistic whimsies is with cologne... but Lang's cologne was also a relative failure (it had a REALLY odd scent that turned many people off, sort of buttery and just plain odd). He also had a scent that had no scent (limited production of course) and Cuiron, which was a little more popular but still never really went anywhere.

When Lang owned his own label, he made most of his money from the Helmut Lang Jeans diffusion label, which still had great quality and the prices were good. Prada, in their "infinite" wisdom, dissolved the Jeans line and kept only the Helmut Lang mainline (it brought the actual jeans and tees into the mainline, lowered the quality, and raised the price), which effectively killed the profits because his mainline collections CERTAINLY weren't diplomatic in their fit or styling.

John

 

[Luc-Emmanuel]

rach2jlc, you can't really turn a designer label into a luxury label. It's a different business model, that's what Prada didn't understand with HL.
What they did with Jil Sander is actually different, but still was a total failure.

!luc

 

[rach2jlc]

I agree with you totally, Luc. I'm not sure WHAT Prada was thinking, especially in buying two other brands (Sander and Lang) so like itself in terms of aesthetic. In short, they're biggest competition with each other was their own brands. An odd way to build a luxury empire, non?

John