Helmut Lang S/S 2008

[Analog]

[Analog]

[Analog]

The billowing white curtains hanging from the ceiling at the Helmut Lang label's new West Chelsea headquarters Thursday hinted at the minimalist-yet-warm tone of the clothes about to make their debut. After two promising capsule showings (spring and fall 2007), this was to be the brand's first "real collection," as a rep called it, since being acquired by Link Theory in the wake of its founding designer's departure.

The results? Well, let's just say that the art and media types who've always favored the label won't need to abandon it just yet. Michael and Nicole Colovos’s 23-look collection for spring 2008 echoed the eponymous Austrian’s intellectually rigorous approach to fashion, while steering clear of slavish retread. The pieces clung to a minimal color palette of white, olive, and black, with a slightly softened silhouette (think voluminous hoods, extended shirts, drop crotches).

As with the modern architecture the collection strove to evoke, the clothes’ deconstructed detailing ranged from playful (including a cotton blazer with stealthy bomber-style pockets) to borderline pretentious (pointless asymmetry, a cardigan that buttoned up both front and back). Fabrics were an inviting mix of finely woven cottons, supple lambskin, and high tech (an oversized white Crombie constructed of aluminum-fortified "techno crunch").

And an elegantly-proportioned assortment of footwear continued the season's sandal trend, most memorably a strap-heavy leather pair that, er, toed the line between provocative and overwrought. “We’re not trying to walk in [Lang’s] footsteps at all,” Michael said afterward. Maybe so, though it must be comforting to know the path’s so well marked.

— Paul L. Underwood

[wEstSidE]

seenmy?????!!!!

[Bona Drag]

lawwwwlz

someone took that up in another thread

my experience is that people love to bash the new helmut lang (which is somewhat understandable), but i like and would wear a lot of this, especially some of these jacket/hoodie mutations

nothing especially visionary, but still some interesting pieces

dropped crotches ftw

[Analog]

My feelings on it are mixed.

However, I do think people are gonna eat up this accessible mixture of simple-and-quirky. Diehard HL purists may not like it, but it should find a good sized audience, especially from the cross-over of young Theory customers.

.

[wEstSidE]

you mean it isn't him? it's a dead ringer. he needs to come disprove this theory.

[mike lowrey]

lawwwwlz

someone took that up in another thread

my experience is that people love to bash the new helmut lang (which is somewhat understandable), but i like and would wear a lot of this, especially some of these jacket/hoodie mutations

nothing especially visionary, but still some interesting pieces

dropped crotches ftw

I agree. I dont like what happened with the brand, but I also have to admit that I like this collection. simple but nice.

[alterion]

yeah people love to hate what helmut lang has become. But this collection is vastly superior to alot of what i've seen of s/s 08 so far. lots of highly wareable and good looking peices

[LanceP]

seenmy?????!!!!

First thing I thought of when I saw #6.

Echoing mike lowery and Bona Drag... I lost all hope in HL once the label was bought out, but this collection isn't bad.

[Bona Drag]

p.s. i did forgot to add that i'm not feeling the sandals at all

get these dudes some black slip-ons and i'd like these pics even better

[modern77]

As others have already said, taken in isolation, this collection is looking good.

[ProfMonnitoff]

Does anyone know where I can find some high quality pictures of this collection? Based on the pictures here, I'm in love with the jacket in #2 but I want to see a bigger picture.

[onemancult]

forget about whether or not that is seenmy...

izzat punkrockjake?

[owl]

aNYthing punkrockjake and autumn ted...

[josephr]

fuck this collection. it's THEORY by HABITUAL. taking a shit on the name of a genius.

[Guest Airjamie]

Off the sign, over the bridge, out of the closet, under the bums legs, off that guys head, passed the bus NUTHIN BUT CRAP

[stuntastic]

Pant in #16

[RAISED BY WOLVES]

What the Bloodclat?

Shit's hotfire... -thesandles that is.

Jake's back in the modling game I see....

[the breaks]

Very accessible collection. I see a lot of pieces there that i would wear and I'm a pretty conservative dresser.

[RockTheVote]

The couple def add their flavor into the collection. In a way, it's good that they put their own style into this collection, on the other hand.. wow this is not the Helmut Lang we've known.

[squirrelmilk]

un helmut of the habitual people ( correct me if im wrong)

not horrible but just "eh"

[nairb49]

this would have been perfect for the "Theory" label to take it up a notch.

But as wearable and as much as I like it, it brings down HL's creative genius to a level thats really quite banal.

I see this doing quite well though, its a shame that too often a name is all it takes.

[wildcat]

didn't think i'd be into newer helmut, but i actually like it

[fadingblue]

im deff diggin some shit here