Helmut Lang: Minimalism at its Best
By: Boyd Davis
(Photo below: From Helmut Lang on the runway Spring 2005.

Austrian born (Mar 10, 1956) Helmut Lang established his own fashion studio in Vienna in 1977. It was not until 1986 that he made his debut in Paris. Against the tide of the opulent 1980s, he presented simple lines and his collection was judged "too harsh" and "too minimal." And MINIMALISM was born!

The fashion world appointed him as the King of Miminalism. To Helmut Lang, he was just following his view of the basic elements of design - form, fabric and colour. So, when the tide of fashion changed, all of a sudden, Helmut Lang was IN and crowned as the harbinger of the new look. Bewildered and amused, the designer continued to design clothes the same way he had - understated with urban aesthetics using luxury fabrics.

"I have been developing...what I call a non-referential view of fashion. It is all about today. It has to do with my personality, with my life and with the idea that quality doesn't go out of style every six months." -- Helmut Lang The St. James Fashion Encyclopedia

Helmut Lang understands "today." He sees fashion as fleeting, as technological, as part of the world that goes fast. Part of his genius is uncanny ability to be ahead of the pack. Though he leans on using synthetic fabrics, he started to mix it with natural fabric before anyone did. He sees patterns and designs by mixing opposing sides. Fashion critics call him futuristic. I would rather call him, a man of today who understands the intricacies of a world changing as fast as technology does.

Visit his website - it's a white page.

It's almost anathema to the current trend of using Flash and all the gizmos used on the web.

But it gives you what you need - Helmut Lang's latest ready-to-wear collection, accessories and perfume.

It has a listing of all his stores.

And one very innovative thing - he is giving away the photos of his runway shows! It is even zipped for easy download, and separate listing for MAC and PC formats! Again, the designer is ahead of the pack - give away the photos, people will download it anyway!

As for the white page - that was the web when it started. But there is a lesson to be learned here - the usability of your website. It's usable! It gives people what they want and they can find it fast.

Of course, the web design pundits will call it 10 steps back for the web. My take - let it be! It's different and it definitely caught my eye. It's what you want anyway when designing a website.

Menswear Spring 2005 (Photo by FW)

Spring 2005 (Photo by Javier Mateo)

Website: www.helmutlang.com

Address:
Helmut Lang New York
80 Greene Street
New York, NY 10012
Tel: (212)334-1014
Fax: (212)334-1950

Helmut Lang Milan:
Via Melzi D'Eril 30
20154 Milan, Italy
Tel: 39 02 349811
Fax: 39.02.33100530

Press contact for:
HELMUT LANG
6, rue de Braque
75003 Paris
France
Alexis ARNAULT
Tel: +33 (1) 49 96 44 77
Fax: +33 (1) 49 96 20 71