DIFFUSION DEBUT: Helmut Lang Launches A Second Collection Next Month
April 24, 2012
There's original cutting edge Helmut Lang, the current, contemporary department Helmut Lang version 2.0, and starting in May, there will be HELMUT by Helmut Lang (pictured above). That popular yet redundant labeling format can only mean one thing, and that is a new secondary collection from the Link Theory owned label. The Cut has a slideshow of some key pieces to be included in the label's inaugural collection, and it looks like the label's most popular items and signature looks will be repurposed as classic basics. That's not Helmut Lang classics so much as Michael and Nicole Colovos for Helmut Lang classics which means lots of lightweight, draped jersey with uneven hems rather than shocking pink laser cut latex sheaths. (Sorry, the name Helmut Lang still makes The Shophound think of all those razor sharp tailored suits, sleek camel coats and unexpected clashing materials from the late 1990s. Flowy draped jersey was not on the menu then.)
In fact, it turns out that Helmut Lang 2.0 seems to have been far more profitable than the original press darling, High Fashion version. When Link Theory relaunched the line without its namesake, it stayed fairly low-key until the brand was rebuilt as contemporary label, and then a few seasons ago, it re-joined the Fashion Week runway race. Now that a secondary collection is on the way, one wonders if the Colovoses (Colovi?) may push the main collection back up towards the pricier designer category. Time will tell. In the meantime, HELMUT will debut in the brand's own stores next month, and then, presumably, in department stores everywhere shortly afterward.
First Looks: Helmut Lang’s New Diffusion Line By Charlotte Cowles (NYMag)
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