Helmut Lang: Super Cool
By Timothy Hagy
(Photo by IndigitalTV)
PARIS, Jun 30, 2003/ FW/ --- The thermometer was flirting with 90 on a sweltering Sunday afternoon in
Paris, but Helmut Lang beat the heat with a collection so cool that it
splashed like pool water.
Lang's shows always just start with no fanfare, no staging, no hype.
But by the time they finish, fashion enthusiasts are practically exploding with bent-up
praise.
Today's men's show for Spring / Summer 2004 brought out the heavy
hitting journalists on both sides of Vogue, the International Herald Tribune
and even Stephen Gan from Visionnaire magazine.
There was no sighting of
filmmaker Roman Polanski this time, but then again he always had more of an
eye for the girls.
With a rocking soundtrack, the teen-age, though buffed, models wound their
way around the small space on the rue de Commines.
Helmut Lang's signature deconstructed black and white style hit the catwalk
with deconstructed pants pocketed with pleats, and unfinished shirt sleeves
dangling.
Waist-clinging aluminum vests were reworked this season with
strips of electric blue, while split versions wrapped around the waist like
space-age cummerbunds.
Glossy pointed toe shoes finished off the
presentation. The finesse of the details and the exigent tailoring have
certainly solidified the Austrian designer's international reputation.
Since his return to Paris one year ago, Lang seems to have gotten a second
wind, displaying collection after collection reinvigorated with a fresh
sense of creativity.
Midway through the show, just as the soundtrack began to sing the blues, out
came a collection of black muscle/halter tops cut back to strings.
"That's very gay", said an English designer sitting front row. "I couldn't wear that
out in public. Well not at least before going to the gym".
Soon, pants were
coiled with aluminum spirals, and vests were pierced with holes resembling
Swiss cheese.
By the time the soundtrack had recovered to a fast beat, the show had moved
on to a finale of silvery white biker jackets worn with cowboy boots.
The truth of the matter is there is no gay following for Helmut Lang as
there is Jean Paul Gaultier.
For that matter, there is no groundswell of rock stars or Hollywood celebrities wearing
the label as they do for Hedi Slimane at Dior Homme.
So if the aim is to capture the heart of Texas or the
urban chic men of Manhattan, well, then it would be best to find a way to
better market it there.
The same pieces that make Fashionista swoon with cool delight, more often
than not, leave buyers tepid.
Prada, the parent company of Lang, has
recently been paying attention to it's other holding Jil Sander, bringing
the German designer back to her own name, in at least part, to stem the tide
of red ink.
While the Italian conglomerate has never released figures on
Lang's sales, there is plenty of reason to believe all may not be well.
The Bon Marché on the left bank of Paris, succeeded in selling almost none of
Lang's Spring / Summer 2003 collection, which this week has been marked down
by up to 50%.
What is hot can turn cold, and while the summer sizzles for Helmut Lang, the
sales of his label look chilly.
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