Helmut Lang S/S 2004 - old school helmut!

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genius>>>...!!!...


all pics above from vogue.ru

 

[tricotineacetat]

As much as I love Helmut, this collection wasn't among my instantly memorable favourites. I've bought this as a buyer back then and while it had some visual punch as a whole with all these entangling layers, slashes and cables running through, it was virtually impossible to emulate the look if you hadn't bought them in their entirety and went exactly with the proposed colour stories. Gorgeous material and colour juxtapositions and some pretty damn spot on accessories and shoes here, but other than that, I MUCH prefered the spring/summer collection he presented a year earlier from this one.

 

[Phuel]

Oh gosh-- this collection still looks of the moment after all these years-- the styling, the modern, minimal and intricate designs, the hair, the footwear. Timeless.

I'm sure Hedi and Raf-- as much as I like them, would not have the prominence and influence in the industry if Helmut didn't step down and left that void in fashion.

tricotineacetat: I can understand how the pieces wouldn't work as well deconstructed, but Helmut's new proposal for layering and proportion is so strong and influential in this collection. I still see the influences of his layering mastery in current collections. I can't rave enough about him.

 

[softgrey]

i really agree with you phuel...

and i definitely see how this collection could be problematic at retail...
all good points there tric...

i was actually thinking the same as i was posting the images....
*i was thinking...this looks sooo amazing...
but it's also very complicated and tricky with all the layers and straps and bits hanging, etc...
it would be hard to hang this collection in a store or showroom and have it make sense to the average consumer...
or even to someone who has experience wearing more complicated designs...

a good sales team would be crucial at the point of sale...
and even then---it would not be an easy sell...

but from a purely artistic point of view...
this is definitely remarkable...
very creative, very sexy, very cool, and completely his own point of view...
simply stunning...

 

[Scott]

it's really a shame what ultimately transpired with helmut because i truly felt helmut was really getting back on his 90's form with these last collections. particularly after a somewhat underwhelming,obviously commercial period between 2000-2003. there's a lot of the autumn 96/spring 97 spirit interwoven throughout this collection. in a way,perhaps,it should have been a sign to us. this was a bit reactive.....like he was rebelling against bertelli and PG.

and yes i do agree that outside the menswear,perhaps,this is a total look kind of collection. but again,let's remember all the die-hards whose uniforms were HL.

 

[Squizree]

Unfortunately I never had the pleasure of experiencing Helmut Lang during his time, mostly because I was too young. But just looking at this makes me wanna shout in delight. It's absolutely amazing how the whole collection looks so well-controlled yet still sooo playful at the same time. Those shapes and fabrics are insanely attractive. And there's actually good amount of womenswear singlets that can be worn by men lol

Skirts with sleeves....why don't we have anything like these days?

 

[tricotineacetat]

but again,let's remember all the die-hards whose uniforms were HL.

Let's not forget that the uniform a lot of people were wearing from Helmut probably did not consist of his more conceptual pieces - it's mostly been what his separate jeans line contained back in the nineties, and it needed being modernized - in the fit, in the quality... something just wasn't on-point when put in direct comparison to what Hedi started to do at Dior then... I kind of remember Helmut's pants to be ill fitting for both men and women back then... It was something for my dad's generation to wear, granted he would have been an arts/advertising/architecture professional.

I really wouldn't want to miss having made the experience with Helmut Lang in those last few years - the shows were fantastically edited and he really had a perfect team of creative minds working under him (Alexa Adams of Ohne Titel was in charge of the womenswear line back then, co-designing it with Melanie Ward), but the problem was that his (buying!) fan base was largely conservative then... In the end, that made the collection seem almost like a split personality in the showroom - you'd have all the super cool fashion-forward, conceptual stuff hanging next to some pretty damn conservative clothing.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Thinking about it, it's a bit obvious to mention Hedi and Raf as the designers that took away some of the excitement from Helmut - Rick also just started out showing his collections in Paris and it was already then that he made a small, cult following among those in the know. I kind of see his' and also Ann's customer then as what Helmut's customer should have been... a faithful loyalist for sure, but with a bit more edge and willingness to really go with the designer's aesthetic. Something tricky as this would totally work today if someone like Rick Owens did it... but it (sadly!) seems as if his customer wasn't ready for it.

 

[Phuel]

I always thought the introduction of the HELMUT LANG JEANS line was hardly an afterthought-- definitely by the time the PG was in full control, the JEANS line had become a basic line. But when it started in the late 90s, the cut, design, and quality was outstanding; the dirty wash, the painter jeans, the minimal straightleg selvedge denim cut where refreshingly new and ahead of the times...

Hedi, Raf, Rick Owens and Nicolas Ghesquiere would all evolve that Helmut Lang aesthetic into their own signature, and good for them, of course, because they really made it their own without ripping him off. But had Helmut still been designing, there would be no doubt his silhouette would evolve to be with the times as well-- in that he would really have perfected the skinny silhouette that became his signature in the 90s. And that's what I miss. His was the blueprint that all others would evolve from.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Hedi, Raf, Rick Owens and Nicolas Ghesquiere would all evolve that Helmut Lang aesthetic into their own signature, and good for them, of course, because they really made it their own without ripping him off. But had Helmut still been designing, there would be no doubt his silhouette would evolve to be with the times as well-- in that he would really have perfected the skinny silhouette that became his signature in the 90s. And that's what I miss. His was the blueprint that all others would evolve from.

I'm actually not so sure about that, keeping in mind that Prada did not provide him the proper resources to perfect his aesthetic in a way as someone like Hedi could with ease at a house like Dior - You could tell that in the flimsy suits made from pretty poor woollen fabrics or the jeans which became sort of the neglected cash cow... they just weren't that desirable anymore... it was really at some point that the witty accessories and the footwear became the highlights of his collection... everybody was wearing his handcuff bracelet and it's still selling for ridiculous amounts on Ebay!

Yes, Helmut pioneered a certain look, but he was admittedly slow to adapt to the new, slimmer silhouette in menswear that Hedi and Raf (and also Rick) were already doing then and that made Helmut's clothes seem baggy and wide in the cut for something that was formerly described as strict and sharp cut.

 

[Phuel]

tricotineacetat: Do you means towards the end of Helmut's run with PG in full control of the label, the quality was getting shabbier? I'll agree that his last men's collection was off; Helmut was never literal with his inspirations and concepts, but with that last men's collections, the nautical theme came off almost gaudy: the sailing motif of ropes as belts; the huge cableknit pattern on the sweater.. Either his heart was clearly no longer in it, or he had absolutely nothing to do with that collection. I'm very interested in your experience as a buyer and what you think of that last collection?

As for Helmut's adaptability skills-- I would think he would be able to do so, perhaps not as quickly as you would have wanted. Very true that what was considered "strict and sharp" at one time, will look "baggy and wide" when it's replaced with the next step in its design evolution. Unfortunately for Helmut in this case, his design evolution ended in the mid-00s.

In 2003, Hedi was still refining his skinny and structured signature silhouette for Dior Homme. I don't think he got it quite right yet by then. His prior gig at YSL was the beginning of that infamous silhouette, but it was still very much a product of late-90s minimalism, which Helmut was the leader of. Even Hedi's infamous jeans were not as tight, as they were, back then?

The fortunate thing about Helmut Lang is that, he's able to come back to fashion and blow us away, if he chooses to do so.

 

[tricotineacetat]

tricotineacetat: Do you means towards the end of Helmut's run with PG in full control of the label, the quality was getting shabbier? I'll agree that his last men's collection was off; Helmut was never literal with his inspirations and concepts, but with that last men's collections, the nautical theme came off almost gaudy: the sailing motif of ropes as belts; the huge cableknit pattern on the sweater.. Either his heart was clearly no longer in it, or he had absolutely nothing to do with that collection. I'm very interested in your experience as a buyer and what you think of that last collection?

As for Helmut's adaptability skills-- I would think he would be able to do so, perhaps not as quickly as you would have wanted. Very true that what was considered "strict and sharp" at one time, will look "baggy and wide" when it's replaced with the next step in its design evolution. Unfortunately for Helmut in this case, his design evolution ended in the mid-00s.

In 2003, Hedi was still refining his skinny and structured signature silhouette for Dior Homme. I don't think he got it quite right yet by then. His prior gig at YSL was the beginning of that infamous silhouette, but it was still very much a product of late-90s minimalism, which Helmut was the leader of. Even Hedi's infamous jeans were not as tight, as they were, back then?

The fortunate thing about Helmut Lang is that, he's able to come back to fashion and blow us away, if he chooses to do so.

Oddly enough, that last menswear collection allowed for a better variety to break it down into a somewhat exciting RTW selection than what the previous summer season (SS'04) provided... With Helmut, you always had a vast choice of fabrics/colour ways for each style and I remember they had at least a few exciting choices like chintzed/lacquered cotton linen blends or a wool suiting that looked like raw denim that offered a bit of a twist on well-known Helmut staples such as the two button suit or a utilitarian blouson. That whole naval theme was better kept low profile with some accessories such as the key chains with dangling jersey ropes...

Looking back on his tenure at Dior, it's really been those first few years towards the beginning of the project when Hedi produced his best efforts for Dior Homme before they diversified the collection into what it is today. People are still paying crazy amounts on Ebay and elsewhere for the some of his most prominent designs then... and even under Kris Van Assche are they still re-issuing Hedi's best selling jeans from around this period in exactly the same cuts than they did in 2003/2004. The quality of all these pieces was and still is lightyears better than those of Helmut's designs under Prada... one of the reasons why Jil Sander eventually resigned from her fashion house, because she was not happy with the way her quality was lowered in Bertelli's attempt to raise the product margin.

I'm not too sure Helmut would really want to make a comeback in fashion as he made it clear by shredding all previous traces of his former career for his arts venture that he does not look back on it with much nostalgia. Independently financed, he would also have a hard time to return in about the same size without proper financial backing and I don't see him being interested in doing something low key in a fashion concept.

 

[Phuel]

I love hearing about people's inside experiences and impressions-- thanks for sharing yours tricotineacetat!

I do remember the coated cotton materials, which looked interesting, but overall, that last men's collection was as commercial as Helmut ever got. And those "rope" accessories instantly reminded me of a dog's chew toy; such a disappointment after all the clever but always sleek accessories Helmut would produce (like the handcuff bracelets).

Helmut's A/W 96 collection was my official intro to his world. I'd known about HELMUT LANG since the early 90s, and was always curious at the unfussy, plain-but-sharp designs, and the attitude of his presentations; which always came off uncontrived, but still slick, and never "fashiony".

That A/W 96 collection hooked me in instantly: The military/utilitarian concept mixed with a raw punk edge was refreshing. It was never gimmicky-- it wasn't designer punk. It was love at first sight.

vogue.com

 

[Scott]

^that's the one that entranced me as well phuel! that's actually how my affinity for military clothes started. (ps-i wish there was a bigger shot from that spread.)