Helmut Lang/Prada drama> update*HL-art
- Thread starter mdankwah
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Fade to Black
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metal-on-metal said:
Basically...sucks to hear this.
PrinceOfCats
Naturellement pulpeuse
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faust said:
We ask ourselves, is faust secretly an alias for Patrizio Bertelli? Or is he just psychic.
birdofparadise
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Tom Ford getting the ax was just the tip of the iceberg, it seems. This is really sad, I'm such a fan of Helmut Lang...and his last collection got such great reviews. Prada has to stop eating good designers for breakfast...is there even anyone great left in their stable?
Heroin_Chic
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birdofparadise said:
Well, Miuccia herself isn`t a hopeful perspective...
I wonder when she resigns from the group!v
mikeijames
no tom ford, no thanks.
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metal-on-metal said:
in a funny way, those two brands should be incredibly cheap to run now...
Foxie-Pooh
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I don't think Prada is doing that great lately...they haven't produce anything that create anything that are truely desirous. Overpriced key chain? Cheap-looking handbags?
TheSoCalledPrep
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this is being a big trend... yikes...
FROM WWD:
Monday, January 24, 2005
Helmut Lang Splits from Prada
http://www.wwd.com/article/email/95857
MILAN - Prada Group said Monday that Helmut Lang has resigned as creative director of the company that bears his name.
Lang's departure came after increasing tensions between the designer and Prada chief Patrizio Bertelli, which WWD revealed last week.
The Lang collections will be designed by the creative team that also produced the men's collection being shown in Paris, Prada said in a statement.
Lang is the second major designer to depart Prada in the last few months after the resignation of Jil Sander from her label in November — the second time the German designer resigned from the Italian luxury group.
Prada bought 51 percent of Helmut Lang in 1999 and the remaining 49 percent last fall. Lang's New York-based fashion house has had a checkered history under Prada's ownership. Wholesale sales declined to about $37 million in 2003 from an estimated $100 million in 1999l.
The Austrian-born Lang and Bertelli were increasingly dueling over the strategic direction of the Lang business, including the merchandising of the collection and creative control over the accessories category, people close to the situation said last week.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Helmut Lang Splits from Prada
http://www.wwd.com/article/email/95857
MILAN - Prada Group said Monday that Helmut Lang has resigned as creative director of the company that bears his name.
Lang's departure came after increasing tensions between the designer and Prada chief Patrizio Bertelli, which WWD revealed last week.
The Lang collections will be designed by the creative team that also produced the men's collection being shown in Paris, Prada said in a statement.
Lang is the second major designer to depart Prada in the last few months after the resignation of Jil Sander from her label in November — the second time the German designer resigned from the Italian luxury group.
Prada bought 51 percent of Helmut Lang in 1999 and the remaining 49 percent last fall. Lang's New York-based fashion house has had a checkered history under Prada's ownership. Wholesale sales declined to about $37 million in 2003 from an estimated $100 million in 1999l.
The Austrian-born Lang and Bertelli were increasingly dueling over the strategic direction of the Lang business, including the merchandising of the collection and creative control over the accessories category, people close to the situation said last week.
Helmut Lang left his own company!
What's wrong with Prada Group! They are chasing away another talented designer! The later news from vogue paris: Helmut Lang left the company while the collection will be all left to the hands of his remaining design team!!!!!!
What's wrong with Prada Group! They are chasing away another talented designer! The later news from vogue paris: Helmut Lang left the company while the collection will be all left to the hands of his remaining design team!!!!!!
snickerdoodles
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This is being discussed in the Helmut Lang thread in the last few pages 
:
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11852
:http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11852
stylegurrl
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I was away from here for two weeks because of computer trouble and today I have come back to this sad news. 
It is making me think twice about becoming a designer. What place will there be in the future for those who refuse to be media w**** and prefer to see fashion as a true art? I feel depressed.
It is making me think twice about becoming a designer. What place will there be in the future for those who refuse to be media w**** and prefer to see fashion as a true art? I feel depressed.
softgrey
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highlights...from wwd...
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Helmut's Dramatic Exit: Bottom-Line Focus Drives Out Lang
By Miles Socha
PARIS — Fashion’s revolving door has a new twist: Exit only.
In another symptom of the growing malaise between the suits and the studio, Prada Group said Monday that Helmut Lang has resigned as creative director of the fashion house he founded 19 years ago and made synonymous with minimalist, edgy cool.
No explanation was given for the split with Lang.
The release noted that Lang’s remaining design team would develop the upcoming fall-winter women’s collection. It has not yet been determined if it will be shown on the runway during Paris Fashion Week in March.
Lang also declined to comment beyond the press release, in which he declared: “I would like to thank everyone, particularly my team and all the petites mains [seamstresses] and all the press and buyers who have supported the company in the past years.”
According to sources, Lang has a noncompete clause in his employment contract with Prada that forbids him to work in any related business for six months. However, the 46-year-old is not expected to walk off into the sunset and has told intimates that he will consider new opportunities within and beyond fashion.
One of the defining figures of the Nineties, Vienna-born Lang is synonymous with clean-lined sportswear for women and men with a futuristic, artsy sensibility. He electrified New York Fashion Week with shows held in raw gallery spaces with a hip soundtrack provided by his Viennese DJ friend, Peter Kruder.
However, many of the bold plans announced for Lang did not materialize,
Aborted development plans are said to have fueled Lang’s discontent, with merchandising and creative control over the accessories category deemed other bones of contention.
Meanwhile, observers said the split suggests the role of designer is changing — often at odds with the corporate powers that be.
Paola Leoni, managing director of Milan-based ASI Consulting, said designers and managers need to find a new equilibrium between the creative and marketing needs. The role of designer used to be “about 80 percent creativity and 20 percent interpreting trends. Now it’s more like 50-50. Just think of Tom Ford,” she said, alluding to the former Gucci Group creative director, who was prized for his business acumen in addition to his fashion prowess.
According to Jean-Jacques Picart, a Paris-based industry consultant, managers are putting more and more pressure on designers as the competitive environment intensifies and designer brands must compete with fast-fashion chains for scarce fashion spending.
“They ask designers to be Superman: to excite people on the runway, attract people into the stores, do personal appearances and more,” he said.
Armando Branchini, a Milan-based luxury analyst, said he expects more rifts will happen as companies battle tough market conditions and take a more hard-nosed approach.
“Many designers, once they sell their business, become less interested in turning a profit and feel free to entirely focus on the artistic side of their work. They are more interested in what the critics or the fashion establishment say, rather than whether their clothes sell or not,” he said. “Bertelli is a wonderful entrepreneur, but very instinctual, a one-man show, an individualist whose ego motivated him to build his company, and I say this in a positive way, as this is what actually drove him to develop Prada. However, his personality makes it harder to have partners, and not only in terms of designers.”
Julie Gilhart, vice president and fashion director at Barneys New York, said, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. [Lang] is great at what he does and his last couple of shows have had a lot of energy.
“Who knows what it means for the brand. It certainly is confusing because retailers so relate to Jil at Jil Sander and Helmut at Helmut Lang. It’s confusing and a new thing we’ll have to navigate through. I think Mr. Bertelli’s a smart man and I hope Helmut does something on his own.”
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Helmut's Dramatic Exit: Bottom-Line Focus Drives Out Lang
By Miles Socha
PARIS — Fashion’s revolving door has a new twist: Exit only.
In another symptom of the growing malaise between the suits and the studio, Prada Group said Monday that Helmut Lang has resigned as creative director of the fashion house he founded 19 years ago and made synonymous with minimalist, edgy cool.
No explanation was given for the split with Lang.
The release noted that Lang’s remaining design team would develop the upcoming fall-winter women’s collection. It has not yet been determined if it will be shown on the runway during Paris Fashion Week in March.
Lang also declined to comment beyond the press release, in which he declared: “I would like to thank everyone, particularly my team and all the petites mains [seamstresses] and all the press and buyers who have supported the company in the past years.”
According to sources, Lang has a noncompete clause in his employment contract with Prada that forbids him to work in any related business for six months. However, the 46-year-old is not expected to walk off into the sunset and has told intimates that he will consider new opportunities within and beyond fashion.
One of the defining figures of the Nineties, Vienna-born Lang is synonymous with clean-lined sportswear for women and men with a futuristic, artsy sensibility. He electrified New York Fashion Week with shows held in raw gallery spaces with a hip soundtrack provided by his Viennese DJ friend, Peter Kruder.
However, many of the bold plans announced for Lang did not materialize,
Aborted development plans are said to have fueled Lang’s discontent, with merchandising and creative control over the accessories category deemed other bones of contention.
Meanwhile, observers said the split suggests the role of designer is changing — often at odds with the corporate powers that be.
Paola Leoni, managing director of Milan-based ASI Consulting, said designers and managers need to find a new equilibrium between the creative and marketing needs. The role of designer used to be “about 80 percent creativity and 20 percent interpreting trends. Now it’s more like 50-50. Just think of Tom Ford,” she said, alluding to the former Gucci Group creative director, who was prized for his business acumen in addition to his fashion prowess.
According to Jean-Jacques Picart, a Paris-based industry consultant, managers are putting more and more pressure on designers as the competitive environment intensifies and designer brands must compete with fast-fashion chains for scarce fashion spending.
“They ask designers to be Superman: to excite people on the runway, attract people into the stores, do personal appearances and more,” he said.
Armando Branchini, a Milan-based luxury analyst, said he expects more rifts will happen as companies battle tough market conditions and take a more hard-nosed approach.
“Many designers, once they sell their business, become less interested in turning a profit and feel free to entirely focus on the artistic side of their work. They are more interested in what the critics or the fashion establishment say, rather than whether their clothes sell or not,” he said. “Bertelli is a wonderful entrepreneur, but very instinctual, a one-man show, an individualist whose ego motivated him to build his company, and I say this in a positive way, as this is what actually drove him to develop Prada. However, his personality makes it harder to have partners, and not only in terms of designers.”
Julie Gilhart, vice president and fashion director at Barneys New York, said, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. [Lang] is great at what he does and his last couple of shows have had a lot of energy.
“Who knows what it means for the brand. It certainly is confusing because retailers so relate to Jil at Jil Sander and Helmut at Helmut Lang. It’s confusing and a new thing we’ll have to navigate through. I think Mr. Bertelli’s a smart man and I hope Helmut does something on his own.”
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softgrey
flaunt the imperfection
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i have to say...i am so grateful that i was able to go to his shows...
the space and the music really were so appropriate for his clothes and they really did electrify the audience...i've never been to another show like that one...
my pulse was racing and my heart was beating so fast by the time it was over...
the space and the music really were so appropriate for his clothes and they really did electrify the audience...i've never been to another show like that one...
my pulse was racing and my heart was beating so fast by the time it was over...
