Shayne Oliver Tapped for a Special Collection at Helmut Lang

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Today’s biggest fashion news headline read that Hood By Air’s Shayne Oliver was appointed to design special collection for Helmut Lang, which was never quite the same after Lang’s departure from his namesake label in 2005. Lang began his career as a designer in Austria where he was born. In 1977 he set up a made-to-measure studio there and by 1979, when he was only 23, he opened his first retail boutique. By 1986, he officially founded the house of Helmut Lang in Paris.

He remained in his position after Prada Group acquired a 51% stake in his company in 1999, but parted ways when another sale was made to the Japanese company Link Theory Holdings in 2005. Under a new design team appointed by the company’s chief Andrew Rosen, the label was relaunched in 2007 with a more mainstream look at a more affordable price point. You might say it looked more like Theory than Helmut Lang. Today’s new hire suggests a return to something more creative.

Though similarly boundary-pushing, Oliver’s aesthetic couldn’t differ more from the minimalism that Lang is known for. His work became part of larger movement during the late ’80s and ’90s. Riding that minimalism wave, he reached a level of success and a cult following that few designers ever do. I can still recall the last Helmut Lang sample sale as we rushed to scoop up whatever we could. When he left his house, he put fashion behind him altogether to pursue art. There had been rumors that he didn’t see eye to eye with all of his new partners, but quitting fashion seemed an extreme, but also understandable move.

But his respected name lives on, and I’m interested to see what Oliver and the new creative team helmed by Dazed EIC Isabella Burley will do under it. Business of Fashion reported earlier that Oliver’s collection will be revealed in September 2017, and they’ve confirmed that Oliver will continue his label Hood By Air.

There’s no sign of a comeback Helmut Lang, but there’s always a part of me that’s wondering if he might someday return. Stranger things have happened. I’m also wondering what he thinks about the latest reincarnation of his namesake.

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createdAt:Fri, 17 Mar 2017 14:25:54 +0000
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