helmut lang article

[poly800rock]

in the nytimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/fashion/thursdaystyles/26helmut.html?8hpib

May 26, 2005

Decline and Fall of Helmut Lang

By ERIC WILSON

ABOUT Helmut Lang's major influence over the fashion of the last 15 years there is little doubt. Consumers can thank him for flat-front pants, the number of buttons on men's suits - first three, more recently two - and the spiraling prices of designer jeans and T-shirts. An entire culture of prestige denim was born from Mr. Lang's low-rise jeans with intricate washes, for which he dared to charge close to $200 in the 1990's.

So powerful was his creative leadership that when he said he would show his collections in Manhattan ahead of European rivals, most American designers followed suit, and New York Fashion Week was permanently rescheduled.

Yet this designer, who was once a driving force of minimalism, who was profiled in The New Yorker and who advertised his name in thick black letters on the top of taxicabs, has found himself in a state of free fall, with his empire being dismantled piece by piece.

Four months ago Mr. Lang left the company that bears his name after long-running discontent with the Prada Group, which owns it. In early May, Prada began talks to sell off the business, describing it as unprofitable. This week Prada told managers at the designer's stores in New York and Paris they would be shuttered in July.

Mr. Lang, 49, has been able to hold on to the oceanfront mansion in East Hampton, N.Y., he bought for $15.5 million after first selling Prada a stake in his business. (He outbid Jerry Seinfeld for the property.) But as he weighs his future, he has told friends, he may never return to fashion. "I don't think he will ever take up the form again," said Elfie Semotan, a photographer who has known him since he began designing in Vienna in the 1980's.

When asked of his plans at a recent benefit in Manhattan for the International Center of Photography, Mr. Lang smiled in his typically opaque way and said only one word, "Patience."

In a sense his ejection from fashion's high table is a familiar story: designers have long sold control of their labels for cash to grow, then clashed with the new bosses and had to leave. Hervé Léger was fired from Hervé Léger. Joseph Abboud quit Joseph Abboud. Jil Sander quit Jil Sander, twice.

But unlike some others, according to executives who worked with Mr. Lang, he was given broad latitude to run his design studio and to decide how to develop his brand, including unconventional marketing like advertisements in National Geographic. Success, however, did not follow. Sales fell 60 percent over five years, Prada reported, from more than $100 million in 1999, when it bought the company, to $37 million in 2003.

Publicly, Prada executives attributed the slide to declining tourism related to fear of terrorism and severe acute respiratory syndrome and to the strong euro, but not to what some retailers now acknowledge, that Mr. Lang's dedication to minimalism was absolute even as consumer tastes evolved.

"Look at Dolce & Gabbana, Cavalli, Dior and Chloé," said Carla Sozzani, the owner of 10 Corso Como, an influential store in Milan, where Prada is based. "That has nothing to do with Helmut Lang. The whole concept of minimalism was very good in the early 90's, but then for the past several years people were not interested in that look."

Another reason for the decline in sales was Prada's cancellation of a license to an outside company to make Helmut Lang jeans, which were responsible for more than half of the brand's revenues. In their trademark dark blue or black, the jeans were sold at more than 700 stores around the world. The decision to cut back production was in line with the dominant philosophy of building a designer label through expensive leather handbags and shoes and opening chic retail stores.

Mr. Lang said at the

[Geowu]

One of the best designers, IMO.

[Caramel]

What a sad story... I guess it happens from time to time.

I also believe not a lot of CEOs in fashion groups know what they really should be doing... most brand failures are due to mismanagement (the rest is becuz the designer sucks which we're not discussing here), which I think in this case it is. There are a lot of Helmut Lang fans out there, and the first thing they'd want from the brand, is usually a pair of jeans. Keeping this sort of diffusion line (or products) is one of the best ways to keep up exposure and widen consumer base, and cutting back on denim is a completely stupid decision where it makes up that much of the revenues. Every designer nowadays (almost) carry their own denim line, so a cutting back is just... WTF...

And I also think Prada (as in Prada Prada) is getting crappier by the day. The designs are there as if to taunt and test to when will the customers throw in the towel and not buy from them anymore. What the hell are they thinking! (and those fashion critics... are you sure that prada is that amazing?!)

Another CEO I'm not a big fan of is the new Gucci group CEO. First thing on the agenda is to tell Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen (Publicly i might add) that if they don't make a profit within 3 years they will be... (that he didn't say). Bad bad decision. Poorly for the group image... isn't it that the best CEOs in a profiting company start with not doing much (to maintain both the public and the employees' confidence) then make small changes? Hmm.....

This is all random.......

[ChadR]

whoops, that's jil sander, nevermind.

Edited by ChadR on May 26, 2005 at 09:09 PM