Prada Confirms Lang Will Not Show

[softgrey]

Published: Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Prada Confirms Lang Will Not Show
By Amanda Kaiser

MILAN — Anyone looking forward to a Helmut Lang show in Paris next month is out of luck.
A spokesman at Prada Holding NV, which owns Helmut Lang, confirmed Monday the Italian company has halted production of the line "for the time being" and won't roll out a spring 2006 collection.

"If you see a brand that can't find its customer base, that can't generate the right level of turnover and it's posting losses, you are going to have to proceed in a certain way," said Bertelli.
A Prada spokesman declined to comment Monday on the state of negotiations with potential buyers. Many market observers have said that selling Lang will be tricky considering its financial losses and the departure of its namesake designer in January.

wwd.com

 

[Atelier]

Many market observers have said that selling Lang will be tricky considering...the departure of its namesake designer...

A point can occur when a brand is sufficiently lucrative in money and reputation without its continuation resting solely on one particular person. HL was never this. Neither was JS.

 

[Erin]

... that's trouble...

 

[Mutterlein]

Hmmm...I think Helmut Lang is done with his old company and getting him back will be very difficult as he is well underway with his new line ART. He's already got his staff and creative directors set up and it we should be seeing something from them in a year or so. I know this from a reliable source. I think I Prada has a very exspensive dud on their hands...they screwed up big time.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Sad, but not unexpected. It´s sad because Prada never put a lot of effort into Lang, they never understood the avantgardism of it (I assume the customer´s didn´t, either... I´m curious which of you girls is wearing Helmut??) - I won´t deny though that they would have needed a hand or two on the product, especially the (women´s) jeans were very difficult to fit... also, who needs patch pockets on denim?!!

 

[rach2jlc]

Mutterlein,

Can you tell us more about Helmut's new project (you mentioned it is called "Art")? This is the first I've heard about it...

Thanks!
John

 

[brian w]

they must have screwed it up big-time... what could they have done to have lost so much money on HL? I think he's one of the more interesting and reliable designers around, plus his stuff for the most part is pretty accessable and easy to wear. (Men's lines anyway, not so sure about the women's) "Can't find its customer base???" they must have been looking WAY off in the wrong places!

 

[Mutterlein]

Mutterlein,

Can you tell us more about Helmut's new project (you mentioned it is called "Art")? This is the first I've heard about it...

Thanks!
John

I think ART was mentioned in another thread as well. I don't know much about it really, I am going to try and find out as much as I can from the person who orginally told me but from what he said it seems Helmut is definitely back to making clothes again and is not terribly concerned with his old label.

 

[kanzaki]

...they screwed up big time.

Fendi is a very good example.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Published: Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Prada Confirms Lang Will Not Show
By Amanda Kaiser

MILAN — Anyone looking forward to a Helmut Lang show in Paris next month is out of luck.
A spokesman at Prada Holding NV, which owns Helmut Lang, confirmed Monday the Italian company has halted production of the line "for the time being" and won't roll out a spring 2006 collection.

"If you see a brand that can't find its customer base, that can't generate the right level of turnover and it's posting losses, you are going to have to proceed in a certain way," said Bertelli.
A Prada spokesman declined to comment Monday on the state of negotiations with potential buyers. Many market observers have said that selling Lang will be tricky considering its financial losses and the departure of its namesake designer in January.

wwd.com

He does a really nice job blaming the brand here ... but anyone who's not accepting at least a bit of the blame isn't telling the truth IMO.

 

[metal-on-metal]

Was anyone expecting them to show? Not surprised here. Very interested to learn more about ART.

 

[bleedoll]

What a waste ..... Anyhow the boutique in Singapore has closed few years back.. I missed it though

 

[Lena]

Fendi is a very good example.

Fendi is ownd by LVMH..

thanks for the inside info Mutterlein, looking forward to any more details if you get to know something more, and yes, ART has been discussed here in the past

m.o.m i totally agree, i wasnt expecting a Lang show either,
thats since the Prada/Lang split came up

 

[zamb]

this is just plain stupid, Prada bought two of the most "ripe for growth brands around". (prada and lang) and they are having problems with both. lang jeans was a bestseller, and very profitable from what i hear. it was prada who decided to stop the production of it. Their was a story in the new york times claiming that lang was too committed to minimalism. thats just not true, elso how do you explain the sucess of brands like Narciso rodriguez, calvin klien etc, who are minimalists to this day.
i hope things work out for him though, as to me he was kinda interesting as a designer. it will be interesting also to see what they do with this brand and what raf simons will do with jil sander as he has never done womenswear..........................

 

[rach2jlc]

I see what you mean, Zamb.

I also always found it a bit strange that Prada chose to invest in brands that were so close to its own aesthetic. If the desire were to create a luxury group like Gucci or LVMH, it would seem odd to pick one's closest competitors and stylistic counterparts. In one way, it is a good way of getting rid of that competition (which is essentially what they've done), but doesn't make much for building a luxury conglomerate.

Each of the three brands would compete for the money of the fan of minimalist design. This isn't very smart, because the goal of such a conglomerate would be offering a different brand/aesthetic for each market.

Gucci, for example, has brands like Bottega Veneta or YSL, each of which is luxurious without being so close to Gucci's own aesthetic as to compete with it.

In any case, I'm still thrilled that Helmut is going to be back doing something. If and when he does, Prada will probably just have to scrap Lang all together. Who is going to buy Lang's stuff if Lang is working elsewhere? Better for Prada just to start a wholly different brand and get new clients that way.

John

 

[faust]

I see what you mean, Zamb.

I also always found it a bit strange that Prada chose to invest in brands that were so close to its own aesthetic. If the desire were to create a luxury group like Gucci or LVMH, it would seem odd to pick one's closest competitors and stylistic counterparts. In one way, it is a good way of getting rid of that competition (which is essentially what they've done), but doesn't make much for building a luxury conglomerate.

Each of the three brands would compete for the money of the fan of minimalist design. This isn't very smart, because the goal of such a conglomerate would be offering a different brand/aesthetic for each market.

Gucci, for example, has brands like Bottega Veneta or YSL, each of which is luxurious without being so close to Gucci's own aesthetic as to compete with it.

In any case, I'm still thrilled that Helmut is going to be back doing something. If and when he does, Prada will probably just have to scrap Lang all together. Who is going to buy Lang's stuff if Lang is working elsewhere? Better for Prada just to start a wholly different brand and get new clients that way.

John

Hmm, while I agree to what you say about the similarities of Prada/HL/JS in menswear, I can't say that it goes for womenswear, which is a much bigger portion of business.

Also, it seemed to me that Ford simply made YSL into Gucci-2, no?

 

[softgrey]

(... I´m curious which of you girls is wearing Helmut??) -

*raises hand*...i do...

thanks for the scoop on helmut's new project mutterlein...
and additional info would be much appreciated...

 

[butbeautiful]

What a waste ..... Anyhow the boutique in Singapore has closed few years back.. I missed it though

ha u can't blame them though. majority of the Singaporean wear sh*ts and don't appreciate the avantgardism.

and i think there are rare pieces of helmut langs at club21 boutique only.

anyway where was it by the way? hilton shopping gallery? and is issey miyake stilll there? haven't visit there for ages.

 

[rach2jlc]

Hmm, while I agree to what you say about the similarities of Prada/HL/JS in menswear, I can't say that it goes for womenswear, which is a much bigger portion of business.

Also, it seemed to me that Ford simply made YSL into Gucci-2, no?

Good points, Faust. I guess that I naturally think of their menswear first... since that is with what I've had the most contact.

John

 

[kanzaki]

Part of an article cut-out.

Following lead in other companies in a popular trend of large labels to absorb as many other fashion houses as possible, Prada took on large debts to take on the financially floundering Rome-based house of Fendi in the early 1990's. Prada shared shares in Fendi with the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy (LVMH) company. Prada was unable to turn around/support the money losing Fendi label, and sold its shares to LVMH. Prada is still to recover from this debt.