Fragrance house

Helmut Lang

Helmut Lang was established in 1986 by Austrian designer Helmut Lang. Developing from Vienna and Paris, his work formed a design language associated with minimalist, utilitarian and functional clothing, with industrial influences. He presented womenswear in 1986 and menswear in 1987 at Paris Fashion Week, later moving his fashion activity to New York. During the 1990s, the brand combined technical materials and restrained silhouettes with artistically engaged visual communication, including collaborations with Jenny Holzer and Louise Bourgeois and advertising photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe. After Lang’s departure, Prada sold the brand to Japan’s Link Theory Holdings in March 2006. In March 2009, Link Theory became a wholly owned Fast Retailing subsidiary while developing Helmut Lang. A post-founder creative reset began in 2017 with Isabella Burley as editor-in-residence and Shayne Oliver as collaborator, and Peter Do was appointed creative director in May 2023 to oversee both men’s and women’s collections. Helmut Lang entered fragrance in 2000 with Helmut Lang Parfum and Helmut Lang Eau de Cologne. Eau de Cologne and Eau de Parfum were described as cult fragrances, withdrawn in 2005 and relaunched in 2014 after formula adjustments.