Helmut Lang

Helmut Lang (born 10 March 1956) is an Austrian artist and former fashion designer who lives and works in New York and on Long Island.

In 1984, Lang closed the shop and two years later showed his first Helmut Lang runway collection in Paris at Centre Georges Pompidou. He showed the first Helmut Lang Men's collection in 1987. In 1997 he moved his label from Vienna to New York.

Lang used unconventional materials such as rubber, feathers and metallic fabrics and redefined the silhouette of the 1990s and early 2000s. He broke away from the runway show-as-spectacle in the height of the 1980s opulence and was the first to stream his collection online.

Lang's brand was known for its utilitarian, minimalist aesthetic, as well as for its prestige range of denim, for which he charged for a premium in the 1990s.

In 1999, Lang sold a 51% stake in his company to the Prada Group, with Prada running distribution and manufacturing and Lang controlling design and advertising. Afterwards, Prada developed a line of Helmut Lang accessories such as shoes, belts and bags, and opened Helmut Lang stores in Hong Kong and Singapore. Sales under the Prada Group fell from $100 million in 1999to $37 million in 2003. The brand's decision to cancel the licensing for an external company to manufacture and market its profitable range of Helmut Lang Jeans was cited as one of the reasons for its loss in revenue. In 2005 he left his label and retired from fashion. He has since been based in Long Island. In 2006, Prada sold the Helmut Lang brand to Link Theory Holdings.

Lang had collaborated with artists Jenny Holzer and Louise Bourgeois. His recent works explore abstract sculptural forms and physical arrangements and space beyond the limitations of the human body. Lang had his first solo art exhibition ALLES GLEICH SCHWER at the Kestnergesellschaft in Hannover in 2008. Lang has published excerpts from his ongoing art projects Long Island Diaries [13] and The Selective Memory Series [14] in a number of publications, such as BUTT Magazine [15], Fannzine 137 [16], Visionaire and most recently The Travel Almanac [17].

This timeline outlines Helmut Lang's work in fashion and art up until 2011.

Solo Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

This timeline outlines the developments in Lang's fashion as well significant attributes of key collections.

Helmut Lang's works are part of the following collections:

• Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens
• Fashion Museum, Bath, United Kingdom
• Groninger Museum, Groninger, The Netherlands
• LACMA, Los Angeles
• MAK, Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria [37]
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• MOMU, Antwerp, Belgium [38]
• Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Paris
• Musée Galliera, Paris
• Museo de la Moda, Santiago, Chile [39]
• Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, USA
• SONS, Kruishoutem, Belgium [40]
• The Arts Center, Melbourne, Australia [41]
• The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
• The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway

Original Helmut Lang stores (until 2005)

All of the original Helmut Lang stores have been closed. The last one to close was the Paris location in late 2005. Most of the art-inspired stores had been designed by Lang in collaboration with Gluckman Mayner Architects of New York.

1995

• Helmut Lang Munich, Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße, 3, 80333, Munich, Germany.
• Helmut Lang Milan, Via St. Andrea, 14, 20212, Milan, Italy.

1997

• Helmut Lang Vienna, Seilergasse, 6, 1010, Vienna, Austria.
• Helmut Lang New York, Worldwide Flagship Store, 80 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012.
• Helmut Lang Headquarters, 80 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012, USA.

2000

• Helmut Lang Paris, Store-within-a-store, Printemps, 64 Bld. Haussman, 75451, Paris, France.
• Helmut Lang Hong Kong, Store-within-a-store, 228-230 Landmark Central, Hong Kong.
• Helmut Lang Singapore, Store-within-a-store, 9 Scott Road #02-10/11/12/13, Pacific Plaza, 228210, Singapore.
• Helmut Lang Aichi, Store-within-a-store, Nagoya Mitsukoshi, Mitsukoshi Nagoya Sakae 2F, 3-5-1 Sakae, Naka-ku Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
• Helmut Lang Tokyo, Store-within-a-store, Isetan Shinjuku Men, Isetan Shinjuku Men's-Kan 3F, 3-14-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo.
• Helmut Lang Tokyo, Store-within-a-store, Isetan Shinjuku Women, Isetan Shinjuku Annex Building 4F, 3-14-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo.
• Helmut Lang Tokyo, Store-within-a-store, Shibuya Seibu Men, Seibu Shibuya Annex B 1F/4F, 21-1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya, Tokyo.
• Helmut Lang Tokyo, Store-within-a-store, Shibuya Seibu Women, Seibu Shibuya Annex B 1F/4F, 21-1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya.
• Helmut Lang Seoul, Store-within-a-store, 2F, Shinsegae Department Store Kangnam Branch, 19-3 Banpo-dong, Seocho-ku, Seoul.
• Helmut Lang Kobe, Dainichi-Akashicho Building 18, Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo, Japan.
• Helmut Lang Parfums New York, 81 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012.

2002

• Helmut Lang Studio, 142 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012.
• Helmut Lang Made-to-Measure New York, 142 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012.

2003

• Helmut Lang Paris, 219 Rue Saint-Honore, 75001, Paris.
• Helmut Lang Milan (new location), Via della Spiga, 11, Milan, 20121.

Four different scents were created by Lang in cooperation with Procter & Gamble, all of which were discontinued with the 2005 closing of the brand.

• Helmut Lang (Women's) - 2000
• Helmut Lang Pour Homme (Men's) - 2001
• Helmut Lang Velviona (women's and men's) - limited release available exclusively at New York store - 2001
• Helmut Lang Cuiron (men's) - 2002

• CFDA, Best International Designer of the Year, 1996.
• VH-1/Vogue Award, Best Menswear Designer of the Year, 1997.
• Fine Arts of Vienna, 1997.
• Pitti Immagine Award, Best Designer of the Nineties, 1998.
• New York Magazine Best Designer of the Year Award, 1998.
• I.D. Magazine, Design Distinction Award for Environments, 1998.
• NYC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects: Award for Interiors, 1998.
• Business Week/Architectural Record Award, 1999.
• The American Institute of Architects, Award for Interior Architecture, 1999.
• CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year, 2000.
• GQ Designer of the Year, 2004.
• Fashion Group International,“The Imagineers of Our Time" Award, 2004.
• LEAD Award, 2005.
• Austrian Decoration for Science and Art, 2009