Helmut Lang Apex Cocoon Jacket
Kassl Pillow Large Oil Tote Bag
AZ Factory Mybody Paneled Stretch-knit Leggings
Magda Butrym Satin Point-toe Mules
Helmut Lang
Safe. Helmut Lang AW24
It’s visible that Peter Do had great intentions and is doing his best to revive Helmut Lang. But with his sophomore collection for the brand, the New York-based designer falls into the trap all his predecessors stepped into: digging into the archives too much. Helmut Lang, the person, never looked back, nor did his fashion. He was always looking forward to new solutions for building a wardrobe fit for modern-day women and men. So why do contemporary designers taking helm of the brand think its the best idea to operate solely on references to Lang’s past work? Except for the fact that this Do collection is heavily inspired with Lang’s spring-summer 2003 “Chinatown bag” print and bubble wrap jackets, I see no novelty here. Also, do we really need another New York brand doing proper outerwear and proper tailoring? This market is already way too over-saturated by brands like Proenza Schouler, Khaite, Marina Moscone, and ironically, Peter Do, the brand.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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What’s Hot (10.2.24)
Contemporary. Helmut Lang Pre-Fall 2024
Peter Do’s second collection – pre-fall 2024 – for Helmut Lang proves that the designer might be really the right match for the brand. Helmut Lang, the label, has been struggling for years with finding it’s tune. No wonder why: it’s difficult to position a contemporary brand without its namesake founder at helm. Just look at what’s going on at Ann Demeulemeester. Do, however, always seemed to have a similar aesthetical sensitivity to Lang, and while his debut collection last September was bumpy, the newest collection offers a more developed glimpse at his vision for the New York-based brand. You can easily see these slinky, less-is-more clothes hanging on racks in stores and imagine customers being attracted to their essential cool. You can also see @brendahashtag wearing every single look. Worth mentioning are the paint-splattered pieces, an OG Helmut Lang specialty, all done by hand by an artist from LA. And the raw denim is cut with adaptable flap pockets, versatility being one of Do’s signatures. The tailoring, meanwhile, is made with an attention to detail that seems rare at these price points – see the inner waistband of the trousers for proof. Excess straps and oversize proportions might seem like too much at the first sight, but all the zippers you see have a function: the sleeves come off a leather biker jacket, and pants zip into shorts or go from straight-leg to flared. A two-in-one bomber puffer in black with white accents was another standout.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Remixing The Codes. Helmut Lang SS24
Peter Do always had a Helmut Lang-like sensibility; I even hinted he could be a great choice for the brand exactly one year ago. Just like Lang did in the 1990s and early 2000s, Do creates at his eponymous label everyday uniforms for a hectic, urban life. He also has a similar take on minimalism, which he polished up under Phoebe Philo at Céline (who, by the way, often referenced Lang’s style-codes). Unexpectedly however, Do’s debut collection for the Fast Retailing-owned brand didn’t deliver. It was yet another remix of Helmut’s signatures, grit-free, nicely packed and smoothed up for a contemporary customer (who, if truly loves Helmut Lang, will simply buy the real deal on a resale platform). In Peter’s painfully straightforward spring-summer 2024, there were many references to the Austrian designer’s milestone moves. The yellow taxi cab print that appeared in many fabrications was a callback to Lang’s then-agenda setting move of advertising on the top of taxi cabs, a format once considered too pedestrian for high fashion by his designer peers. It eventually gave Do’s collaborator, the author Ocean Vuong, a theme for the poem that was printed on the concrete floor of the venue, calling back to the Jenny Holzer installation that was the centerpiece in the original Helmut Lang store at 80 Greene Street. There was also a take on Lang’s tailoring: the flat-front trousers, the androgynous, almost but not quite plain jackets, the crombie coats. The seat belt straps that criss cross the torso and pass through belt loops are straight out of the archive, a reference to the underground world of bondage clubs, but remove them and the suits will pass in the straight world. Helmut Lang’s style captured the essence of a specific time, it was an antidote for over-the-topness, a comfort-place for artists and people who were far-too-cool-for-fashion. Reviving the classics to death just makes no sense.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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