Peter Do resigns as creative director of Helmut Lang
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Helmut Lang and its creative director, Peter Do, are going their separate ways after less than two years, according to various media reports, including WWD.
- Peter Do's departure as Helmut Lang's creative director after less than two years ends another attempt to revive the brand.
- Do's collections, despite archival influences, failed to resonate with critics and customers, leading to Helmut Lang skipping fashion week.
- This marks the latest in a series of creative director changes since Helmut Lang's retirement in 2005, highlighting the brand's ongoing struggle to find a consistent identity.
Do's departure marks the end of another attempt to revive the cult label of the 90s. He presented his first collection for Helmut Lang for spring/summer 2024, but despite strong influences from the brand's archive, he failed to convince critics and customers alike. In September 2024, Helmut Lang also decided to skip fashion week and has not yet announced a collection for spring 2025.
This departure is part of a series of attempts to reposition the brand, which was founded in 1986 by the self-taught designer Helmut Lang. Since Lang's retirement in 2005, the label has experienced numerous creative changes.
The first re-orientation took place in 2007, when Japanese clothing retailer Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. acquired the brand from the Prada Group. Michael and Nicole Colovos were appointed as creative directors and shaped the brand for seven years - the longest and most consistent creative phase since Lang's departure.
After their departure in 2014, a transition period with an in-house design team followed until Isabella Burley, then editor-in-chief of Dazed, joined as editor-in-residence. She commissioned Shayne Oliver, the founder of Hood By Air, to develop a spring 2018 collection in 2017. They were then succeeded by Mark Thomas and Thomas Cawson, who took over in 2019 but left after the spring 2020 collection.
When Do stepped in as creative director in 2023, he continued working on his own label in parallel, moving the collection from New York to Paris. He is now expected to focus exclusively on his brand again.
FashionUnited has asked Helmut Lang for a statement.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.DE. It was translated to English using an AI tool called Genesis and edited by Rachel Douglass..
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