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

Career

In 1986, Lang showed his first Helmut Lang runway collection in Paris at

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

. His first Helmut men's collection debuted in 1987 and a decade later 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 File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American jets fly over burning oil fields in the 1991 Gulf War; the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; the World ...

and early

2000s File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty on the left during the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on Sep ...

. 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 in 1998. Lang's brand was known for its utilitarian, minimalist aesthetic, as well as for his prestige range of denim. In 1999, Lang sold a 51% stake in his company to the

Prada Group Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

, 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 1999 to $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 New York City and on Long Island as a practicing artist. In 2006, Prada sold the Helmut Lang brand to Link Theory Holdings. Lang has collaborated with artists

Jenny Holzer Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950) is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick, New York. Her work focuses on the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, projectio ...

and

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

. His recent works explore abstract sculptural forms and physical arrangements beyond the limitations of the human body. Lang had his first solo art exhibition ALLES GLEICH SCHWER at the

Kestnergesellschaft Kestner Gesellschaft (Kestner Society) is an art institution in Hanover, Germany, founded in 1916 to promote the arts. Its founders included the painter Wilhelm von Debschitz (1871–1948). The association blossomed under the management of and ...

in Hannover in 2008 and has since presented solo exhibitions internationally. Lang has published excerpts from his ongoing art projects ''Long Island Diaries'

and ''The Selective Memory Series'

in a number of publications, such as

Purple Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is ...

, BUTT Magazinebr>
Fanzine 13

Visionaire and most recently The Travel Almana

Work

This timeline outlines Helmut Lang's work in fashion and art up until 2021. Solo Exhibitions Group Exhibitions

Helmut Lang fashion 1977–2005

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

Collections

Helmut Lang's works are part of the following collections: *Costume Institute at

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

, 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, Austri

*

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

*MOMU, Antwerp, Belgiu

*

Musée de la Mode et du Textile The Musée de la mode et du textile (Museum of Fashion and Textiles) was a museum located in the Louvre Palace at, 107, rue de Rivoli, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. It is now a department of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. W ...

, Paris * Musée Galliera, Paris *Museo de la Moda, Santiago, Chil

*

Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest art museum, museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,0 ...

, Phoenix, USA *SONS, Kruishoutem, Belgiu

*The Arts Center, Melbourne, Australi

*The Museum at The

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

, New York *The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway

Architecture projects

Original Helmut Lang stores (until 2005) All of the original Helmut Lang stores have been closed. The last one to close was the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

location in late 2005. Most of the art-inspired stores had been designed by Lang in collaboration with Gluckman Mayner Architects of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. 1995 *Helmut Lang

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße, 3, 80333, Munich, Germany.hl-ar
"Helmut Lang Bio"
*Helmut Lang

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Via St. Andrea, 14, 20212, Milan, Italy. 1997 *Helmut Lang

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Seilergasse, 6, 1010, Vienna, Austria. *Helmut Lang

, Worldwide Flagship Store, 80 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012. *Helmut Lang Headquarters, 80 Greene Street, New York, NY 10012, USA. 2000 *Helmut Lang

Store-within-a-store A store-within-a-store, also referred to as store-in-store (North America) or shop-in-shop (U.K. et al.), refers to a space within a larger retail store, designated for use by a specific brand to feature its products, clearly branded with signs ...

, Printemps, 64 Bld. Haussman, 75451, Paris, France. *Helmut Lang

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, Store-within-a-store, 228–230 Landmark Central, Hong Kong.Socha, Miles. "Helmut Lang Furthers Asian Retail Expansion". Women's Wear Daily 4 August 2000 *Helmut Lang

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, Store-within-a-store, 9 Scott Road #02-10/11/12/13, Pacific Plaza, 228210, Singapore. *Helmut Lang

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

, Store-within-a-store, Nagoya Mitsukoshi, Mitsukoshi Nagoya Sakae 2F, 3–5–1 Sakae, Naka-ku Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. *Helmut Lang

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, 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 Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, Store-within-a-store, 2F, Shinsegae Department Store Kangnam Branch, 19–3 Banpo-dong, Seocho-ku, Seoul. *Helmut Lang

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, 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.Alfano, Jennifer. "Inner Sanctum". ''V Man'' September 2004 *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.

Fragrance Projects

Four different scents were created by Lang in cooperation with

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

, 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

Awards

* 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 ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

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 ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

/Architectural Record Award, 1999. *The

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

, 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 The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...

, 2009

Bibliography

Key interviews *Armstrong, Annie. “'There is No Plan B’: Helmut Lang on Turning His Fashion Archive into Sculpture." ''artnews.com'' (''

ARTnews ''ARTnews'' is an American art magazine, based in New York City. It covers visual arts from ancient to contemporary times. It is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. ''ARTnews'' has a readership of 180,000 in 124 co ...

''). 19 September 2019. *Belcove, Julie L. “From Fashion to Art: Helmut Lang’s Second Act." ''wsj.com'' ('' WSJ.''). 6 January 2015. *Borrelli-Persson, Laird. “'No Regrets.' Helmut Lang Speaks About His 'Living Archive' Intervention at the MAK in Vienna and His Work in Fashion." ''vogue.com'' (''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

''). 26 February 2020. *Bourgeois, Louise, "Louise Bourgeois on...Helmut Lang," ''

Wallpaper Wallpaper is used in interior decoration to cover the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" to help cover uneve ...

''. October 2008. *Frankel, Susannah, "Helmut Lang," ''

AnOther Magazine ''Another Magazine'', styled ''AnOther'', is an international fashion and culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, bel ...

''. September 2010

*Gavin, Francesca. “A Rare Interview with Helmut Lang." ''anothermag.com'' (''

''). 20 September 2019. *McGrath, Charles. “A Seamless Transition From Fashion to Art." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. 1 May 2012. *Obrist, Hans-Ulrich, "Helmut Lang," ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

,'' November 2008

*Petronio, Ezra, "Front Row." ''Self Service''. June 2010

*Porter, Charlie. "Helmut Lang." '' i-D''. August 2008

*Solway, Diane. "Helmut Lang." ''W''. October 2008

*Thompson, Allese. “500 Words: Helmut Lang." ''artforum.com'' (''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

''). 16 January 2015. *Wakefield, Neville. "Conversation Between Helmut Lang and Neville Wakefield." ''absolut.com/helmutlang''. September 2008

*Wakefield, Neville. “Helmut Lang”. ''The Journal''. January 200

References

External links

Helmut Lang Studio web site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Helmut People from Donaustadt 1956 births Living people Austrian artists Austrian fashion designers Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Menswear designers