Helmut Lang/Prada drama> update*HL-art

[mdankwah]

NO MORE BOYS

HELMUT LANG's men are coming off the catwalk. Having interspersed a few men's looks throughout his womenswear collections before the launch of his full menswear line in July 2002, he is now going back to the old system. As rumours circulate of the Prada Group's impending plans to sell off the label, this latest news comes as fuel to the speculative fire. A Prada spokesman insisted that it was simply a "creative decision made by the designer himself", however, and that it "was in no way determined by financial or ecomomic factors". (December 14 2004, AM)

 

[Acid]

OMG! no helmut menswear! THIS IS A JOKE SURELY!

doesnt he sell more menswear than womens?
IMO it would be more sensible for him to work on the mens market than the womens

 

[mikeijames]

well all that helmut menswear just jumped in price i bet...this is a sad day.

 

[luxmode]

What?

 

[beaverhausen]

Say it isn't so! This must be a joke. If not it's just horrible news.

 

[tangerine]

...
it "was in no way determined by financial or ecomomic factors". (December 14 2004, AM)

Translation: this decision is completely determined by financial and economic factors.

 

[softgrey]

Helmut Lang Redux-No Men's Show

from wwd...
Helmut Lang is taking his post-modern men off the runway. After five seasons of showing its men’s collection in Paris, the Prada-owned brand is forgoing the catwalk in January. A Prada Group spokesman said the choice “was a creative decision made by the designer himself.” Although Helmut Lang’s 2003 sales dropped 33.1 percent to 27.85 million euros, or $37.1 million at current exchange rates, the Prada spokesman said the choice “was in no way determined by financial or economic factors.” Before doing his first men’s runway show in July 2002, Lang featured several men’s looks in his women’s shows. A Prada spokesman said Lang would return to that format as well as hold a press presentation in January, although it was not yet known where.

 

[AlexN]

This sucks.

 

[nqth]

It is not a good year for him. He has broke the fragrance bussiness with P&G, too. (The reason was prob. because he wanted to create fragrances, not just sell them everywhere).

I hope that 2005 will be better.

 

[softgrey]

i kinda liked it when he showed men's and women's together...
i used to go to his shows when he was still in ny and they were always great!
very sexy and exciting...mixing a few men in here and there really works well for him...

i think it is probably for the best... B)

 

[AlexN]

There's a full article on this in Designers and Collections. Sad news, indeed.

 

[Spacemiu]

To bad, I just hope they show as much men's at the womens show.

 

[oceanharlot]

weren't there rumours of this already?

 

[Lena]

rumours are Lang is up for sale from the Prada group
downsizing was expected, somehow it doesnt surprise me at all

 

[softgrey]

yeah.. i heard the rumours too..possibly jil sander as well...

 

[nqth]

Jil Sander? Will be it better for the house? God, it is a hard time, indeed.

 

[Lena]

first you buy your 'opponent' brand, then you distroy it, then you sell it, very simple marketing attitude, bad that both Lang and Sander didnt know any better,
at the end of thee day, its not mr. Prada's fault
(hope you get the black humour)

 

[Astrid21]

Unfornate news, indeed. But I can't say that I'm that surprised or even disappointed. I'm pretty sure that Helmut can come out on top - let's hope so at least.

Here's another related article from FWD:

Helmut Lang to Skip Paris Men's Season Runways
By Godfrey Deeny
December 14, 2004 @ 10:38 AM - Paris Helmut Lang will not stage a runway show in next month’s men’s fashion season in Paris, skipping the French catwalks for the first time in five seasons.

Lang traditionally shows at lunchtime on Sunday, smack in the middle of the four-day French season. But the designer’s slot on the just released official calendar of the Chambre Syndicale, French fashion’s governing body, has been taken by Kim Jones of Britain.

“To show men’s and women’s has always been our identity. I thought it was a good time to go back to the original format and not show men’s in Jan particularly as the men’s and women’s shows (in Paris) are four week apart,” Lang explained.

Some may interpret the move as the latest economy measure from the Prada Group, the Italian luxury goods conglomerate that controls Lang, Sander, Azzedine Alaia and Church’s shoes. However, spokespeople for Prada denied any suggestion that the group had put any pressure on Lang to economize by not showing in Paris.

It is understood that Lang has been keen for sometime to scale back on the number or presentations in Paris. The designer has frequently shown men’s looks in his women’s collections, and skipping a men’s season in Paris saves him from crossing the Atlantic twice in winter with large numbers of his staff.

FWD has learned that the house is still working out how to present the men’s clothing to the fashion pack in Paris, but is considering making available visuals to critics in Paris, perhaps through CD ROMs or DVDs.

The Chambre stressed that Lang executives had confirmed that the designer intends showing his women’s collection in March during the fall-winter 2005/2006 collections in Paris.

After moving to New York in the nineties, Lang showed for several seasons in Manhattan, however he returned to the Paris season three years ago, saying at the time that the French season allowed him to reach international stylists, editors and critics who rarely, if ever, came to the New York collections.

The decision to skip the Paris catwalks comes three months after the Prada Group agreed to acquire the remaining 49% stake in Helmut Lang it did not already own, giving it full control of the fashion forward New York-based design company.

The Italian group first acquired a 51% stake in the Austrian designer’s business back in 1999. The terms of that first deal were also not made available, though reports at the time suggested that Prada had valued Lang’s business at $60 million.

 

[faust]

Pathetic... In both sences of the word.

 

[softgrey]

first you buy your 'opponent' brand, then you distroy it, then you sell it, very simple marketing attitude, bad that both Lang and Sander didnt know any better,
at the end of thee day, its not mr. Prada's fault
(hope you get the black humour)

...you said it lena...
at least helmut and jil will be rich and can retire in comfort...perhaps escaping the fashion industry is the best thing that could ever happen to either of them...


thanks for the additional article astrid...