Helmut Lang/Prada drama> update*HL-art

[Chinor1z]

Not overly on point or relevant here, but I do remember that Helmut Lang advertised in National Geographic. That always surprised me. Probably the only designer that would be willing to go that direction with their ads.

 

[Fade to Black]

Not overly on point or relevant here, but I do remember that Helmut Lang advertised in National Geographic. That always surprised me. Probably the only designer that would be willing to go that direction with their ads.

Wow didn't know that, that's awesome.

I also have memories of seeing "Helmut Lang" on top of NYC taxicabs every where...another smart move.

 

[baklanyc]

Not overly on point or relevant here, but I do remember that Helmut Lang advertised in National Geographic. That always surprised me. Probably the only designer that would be willing to go that direction with their ads.

He also advertises in a soft-p*rn gay magazine out of Amsterdam called Butt. But then again, this 'p*rno' mag has some of the best advertisers anywhere - Gucci & Dior also advertise in it!

 

[faust]

Maybe I'm just jaded, but it's just cyclical, isn't it? And despite our love for the industry and the implications of art, originality and design, it's still a business after all. If it's not one designer, it's another. But the good thing is, fashion is about change, and there will always be someone new on the horizon to fill the spaces vacated by others.

I agree. Like a lot of things in nature and in human life, it's cyclical. Right now fashion is in a big doo-doo. I think the point of saturation is near - the markets are getting stagnant and stale. The bertelli's of this world have no vision, and they never will. I think we are ripe for something big to happen, something like modernism in art explosion that happened at the beginning of 20th century. I'm not sure if it will happen in a year or ten or twenty, but I think it will.

 

[faust]

He also advertises in a soft-p*rn gay magazine out of Amsterdam called Butt. But then again, this 'p*rno' mag has some of the best advertisers anywhere - Gucci & Dior also advertise in it!

bedtime reading, heh?

 

[maarit]

I agree. Like a lot of things in nature and in human life, it's cyclical. Right now fashion is in a big doo-doo. I think the point of saturation is near - the markets are getting stagnant and stale. The bertelli's of this world have no vision, and they never will. I think we are ripe for something big to happen, something like modernism in art explosion that happened at the beginning of 20th century. I'm not sure if it will happen in a year or ten or twenty, but I think it will.

beautifully said. I'm holding my breath for the next cycle

 

[Scott]

Well,it definitely goes back to what I said earlier. Its really just a sign of the times...and it's disheartening to see where it's at.

I say,for every person willing not to go to Prada or buy any of those conglomerate gimmicks,perhaps many will begin to change their tunes. A long-shot if you will. But we as the market(generally speaking,I mean)keep it going...and keep Bertelli's ego and arrogance in check. And the more he and the other's continue to prey on talents with their fake promises,the more this industry will be sucked dry.

 

[softgrey]

it's very scary for me to see the industry this unstable...
the future of my career relies on the industry recovering...but it seems to be sinking even lower...these are very uncertain times...

we keep getting further and further away from all the things that drew me to fashion in the first place...*sigh*...very sad...

 

[nqth]

It's so sad. It seems that the most pure modernists have all quit fashion now.

 

[nqth]

But here is the difference that Bertelli does not seem to get, and here he should take a lesson from Tom Ford. Advertising is A LOT, but it's not everything. Gucci PR'ed public to death, but they also delivered high quality goods. Bertelli seems to think that he can maximize the profit by cutting costs. But Jil and Helmut customer is a discerning one, and doesn't seem to bite. And hooray to us for that .

And guys, sorry but Helmut will leave. Soon.

P.S. Nqth, excellent point about accessories! It is exactly the same point I brought up in my conversation about Helmut at A. Great minds think alike

Thanks Faust:-)
Very good point on the quality, esp. for Jil customers:-)

 

[kimair]

it's very scary for me to see the industry this unstable...
the future of my career relies on the industry recovering...but it seems to be sinking even lower...these are very uncertain times...

i agree...so many talented designers have been shifting around recently, not because they want to leave, but are "forced out": Lars Nilsson at Blass, Patrick Robinson, Jil, Helmut, even Mr. Ford...

 

[Heroin_Chic]

Oh No! ((

I just found this:

HAS HELMUT GONE?

BOTH sides are refusing to comment, but word on the fashion front line is that Helmut Lang has already left the house that he founded 20 years ago, and is simply staying on until his contract officially comes to an end on January 26. Speculation that the star Austrian designer was going the same way as Jil Sander, who resigned for the second time last November, became really heated weeks ago when Lang cancelled his menswear show, due to take place in Paris on January 30. It is now almost certain that Paris Fashion Week in March will not feature his womenswear collection. Lang sold the remaining 49 per cent of his label to the Prada Group in October 2004, but even then he was reticent about elaborating on the full takeover. (January 20 2004, AM)

Source: http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=22921

 

[softgrey]

i was just thinking that maybe there will be an opening for ralph rucci here to steal some market share...

he's one of the only ones left who refuses to sacrifice quality ...and maybe he will win over some of the sander and lang fans...

 

[Spacemiu]

Helmut Lang QUITS

Helmut Lang Quits His Own House




Godfrey Deeny

Fashion Wire Daily January 19, 2005 - MILAN - Sources close to Helmut Lang have told FWD that the designer has quit his fashion house, and nobody at the Prada Group, the owner of the Lang business, is prepared to deny the report.



Lang, apparently, announced his resignation late last week, and is believed to be staying on until Jan. 26, the final day of his existing contract as creative director of the house.



Lang was not available for comment, nor indeed was his assistant, Stephen Courter. The receptionist at the house’s Soho headquarters told FWD that Courter, Lang’s assistant for the past several years, was "no longer with the house."



Nor was Lang reachable at his Hamptons country home.



The news comes less than a month after news emerged that Lang had cancelled his men’s catwalk show in Paris, scheduled for Jan. 30. The latest development makes it virtually certain that there will be no Lang women’s show in the Paris women’s season in early March.



In October of 2004, Lang sold his remaining minority stake in his house to the Prada group, announcement that came on the day before the Paris presentation of his spring-summer 2004 women’s collection. The Austrian designer was notably tense in the backstage after that show, declining to speak about the complete takeover of his label by the Italian group.



Asked about Lang’s decision to quit the house he founded nearly 20 years ago, the designer’s de facto spokesperson in North American, Ed Filipowski told FWD, "we can’t comment on rumors," before adding sarcastically, "I heard he was going to become the designer at Jil Sander."



Like Lang, Sander was acquired five years ago in an acquisition spree by Prada clan chieftain Patrizio Bertelli. Sander herself quit her own house in November, the second time that she left her own house – though this time, apparently indefinitely. So now both Lang and Sander are in need of creative directors.



At Prada, the company’s corporate spokesman Tomasso Galli limited himself to saying, "we never comment on speculation of this sort."



However, Galli was unable to confirm when or whether a Lang collection would be presented in Paris.



Insiders in the Prada Group told FWD that executives were still trying to reach some sort of accord with Lang, even as the designer seemed determined to leave his house.



The development represents a remarkable denouement for Lang, arguably the single most influential designer of the nineties and a man at one stage able to alter the entire world fashion to suit his own vision.

 

[metal-on-metal]

Prada is in deep sh*t. Two incredible houses without their namesakes at the helm. This does NOT look good. There goes Prada's IPO.

And more importantly, what are we going to wear now? Ugh this is so sad, pathetic, and shocking.

 

[liberty33r1b]

i hope this is not true and that there's no substance to it.....it would be very sad otherwise, he was such a fixture on the fashion scene, a real talent...

 

[Meg]

Prada is in deep sh*t. Two incredible houses without their namesakes at the helm. This does NOT look good. There goes Prada's IPO.

And more importantly, what are we going to wear now? Ugh this is so sad, pathetic, and shocking.

agreed

 

[Heroin_Chic]

What the hell goes wrong in this Company/Group that they "scare away" the Designers who are the MOST IMPORTANT FIGURES!

 

[PrinceOfCats]

Shame.

 

[MulletProof]