Tim Blanks is right, the Fall 2009 collection of Helmut Lang does have certain similarities with the new pieces of Rick Owens. In particular, jacket lapels and layering that Michael Colovos (who has designed for the label with Nicole Colovos since 2006) calls seasonless dressing, since the layers can be peeled off for the warmer months.
The two brands seem like binary opposites, with the contrast not only in color, but also in fabric. It helps that the set of one show is in white and gray, and the other in white, gray, and black.
But in spite of the differences, the models from the two shows, when placed in pairs, look like estranged brothers. Not different from those two in the story where one joins the military and the other becomes a rebel.
They are from the same stock.
The crossing of their paths is inevitable.
But while Rick Owens is in the ascendant, the label Helmut Lang has yet to return to its former position in fashion ever since its founding designer left the industry. So no clash is imminent.
Even if the day was mostly downcast, here's some color amid the gray and black. Bought the shirt from yesterday's bazaar shopping at Greenhills.
A friend once said that I never really was a teenager; that I was already old even during those years. Well, that doesn't stop me from wearing Elmo on my shirt.
And hanging something in front of his nose.
Tee, from Greenhills; nylon jacket, Izzue; thrifted jeans, Two Percent; skinny leather belt, APC; leather sneakers, Helmut Lang; black plastic necklace, Qeelin; stainless steel necklaces, 168; handkerchief, local department store
Berlin Fashion Week, Paul, 21, model Pilot jacket, vintage; shirt and boots, Ann Demeulemeester; jeans, Levi's; necklace, self-made
Darryl Natale for SiB - Steinstraße, Charlie, shop attendant Cap, shoes, and scarf: all vintage; glasses, Theo; jacket, Ann Demeulemeester; skirt, Comme des Garçons; bag, custom-made
Paris Fashion Week, Marcelo, 32, senior fashion editor for Rodeo Magazine from Patagonia, Argentina Original Patagonian poncho and hat; jacket, Alexander McQueen; shirt, Givenchy; jeans, April 77; shoes, Yves Saint Laurent; belt, Jil Sander
Weinmeisterstraße: Sebastian, 21, student from Uppsala Jacket, Acne; cardigan, boots, and pendant: all by Ann Demeulemeester; tank, Rick Owens; jeans, April 77; scarf, Julius; gloves, Monki
Paris Fashion Week, Andrew, 24, architect from Copenhagen Hat, Label Under Construction; jacket, t-shirts, pants, boots, and gloves: all Rick Owens; scarf, Faliero Sarti
Paris Fashion Week, Daniel Thawley, 20, model and stylist from London Hat, vintage; hoodie, shirts, and pants: all Rick Owens; boots and pendant, Ann Demeulemeester; scarf, self-made; gloves, Marc Jacobs; bracelet, Dior
Paris Fashion Week, Corc Demir, 17, student from Cologne Jacket and necklace, vintage; shirt and bag, H&M; jeans, Cheap Monday; shoes, Goetz; glasses, Davidoff
Paris Fashion Week, Sergio, 25, editor from Berlin Jacket, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair; boots, Ann Demeuelemeester; shirt, Acne; pants, Helmut Lang; scarf, Thanks Max; belt, HTC
Copenhagen Fashion Week, Rune, 29, trend scout (Outside Wood Wood) Jacket, trousers, hat, bowtie, and bag: all vintage; cardigan, Filippa K; shirt, Yves Saint Laurent; shoes; Givenchy
Don Protasio, a Filipino designer based in Cambodia, requested this pair of Helmut Langs from my last Bosquejo Bazaar post, but unfortunately, they were no longer there when I returned to the vintage store. I hope I can make it up to him with another pair from my most recent finds.
These next three pairs may not be in as good a condition as the Helmuts, but I think, exactly because they're this worn in, they're more fun to use casually.
These pointy Gianfranco Ferré (size 42 or 9) laceups, for example, are good with jeans — the more distressed, ripped, and worn in the better.
This next pair (size 44) is made from Italy, marked with the brand Varié. Though they can be just as good as denim, I imagine these shoes being more friendly with cords.
Now this, this pair by Cesare Paciotti (size 7), I really do not know how to explain. I found them in the sneakers rack. Who can blame the salesclerks?
The mix of the elements is so uncanny, I have to shake myself from staring so I can begin imagining how to wear them. They're obviously the most weathered among the three, so I think they should actually be used in the place of sneakers.
With khaki shorts on a sunny weekend!
If any of you readers from Manila are interested, just drop me a line via a comment or through email so I can get them for you. Don't let them slip out of your hands this time...
Why does a successful and influential designer suddenly sell his business and abandon the fashion industry?
What drives him to seek solitude and embrace the vibrant silence of the earth?
In his presumable search for the self, where does he look? To which horizon?
His art installation presented in 2008 in Hanover, Germany and Paris is entitled "Alles Gleich Schwer" or "Everything Equally Difficult" ("Equal Weight"?)
These first several images take different views of his work entitled Arbor, 2007.
"Arbor" means several things: a shady place formed by trees or shrubs or often by vines growing on latticework, the main shaft or axle of a machine which transmits mechanical force to other moving parts, or simply: a tree.
The installation piece does look like the main shaft of an axle, but it can also appear as the pin of a compass, pointing somewhere, navigating viewers.
The use of materials tells of the urgency and simplicity of a single message.
Guiding the lost? Reducing ideas to their bare physical minimum?
Focus on the materials on show
Photographer Juergen Teller presents snapshots from the designer's shows - on the runway and backstage
Three, 2008, made of mahogany and tar, shows what appears like three decapitated eagles, not unlike the damaged statue of the Greek goddess Nike at the Louvre.
They may stand for pure or suspended flight, or spurned authority, as the eagle is the bird of Zeus in Greek and Roman mythologies.
There is something haunting about it. It reeks of power made effete.
Or does it speak more of genesis?
Lang produced this series of pieces called Surrogate Skin, numbered separately.
It is a study in texture, thickness, and transparency.
They remind you not just of soil, sand, and minerals, but also of peel and bandages. Scars?
A quick overview across the pieces of the installation
Life forms, 2008
Are these germination beds?
Setting up of the installation
Untitled, 2008
Seance de Travail
This seems a jump from materials to the spirit.
A broken disco ball: Next Ever After, 2007. What do wrecked illusions reflect?
Is Helmut Lang healing from wounds? Redefining his direction in life?
Amidst the clamor of the fashion world for his return, he bides his time and sinks his hands in the thick fabric of memory and the elements.
Waves can wash away old priorities. What is it that glitters for him?
Images from absolut.com/helmutlang, absolut insert in Fantastic Man No. 8 Fall/Winter 2008, Wallpaper 115 October 2008, and Arena Homme Plus 30: Hard Times Winter 2008/Spring 2009
