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.