Prada
Who was the owner of Helmut Lang (fashion brand) from 2004 to 2006?
Helmut Lang ( fashion brand ) The Helmut Lang fashion brand was created by Austrian fashion designer Helmut Lang in 1986 . The Helmut Lang brand still exists today , but has been carried on without Langs involvement since 2005 . The label . Helmut Lang , a fashion autodidact , set up a made-to-measure fashion studio in Vienna in 1977 and opened a boutique there in 1979 at the age of 23 . His clothes were fairly successful in his native Austria , and , after presenting his work as part of an exhibition titled lApocalypse Joyeuse at the Centre Pompidou in Paris , initiated by the Austrian government , he branched out successfully to Paris in 1986 and created the label Helmut Lang . At this time in the late 1980s and early 1990s , minimalist fashion was at its height . His clothes were made with very sharp lines and careful cuts , creating basic but extremely elegant silhouettes in high quality and often high-tech fabrics . His work has been compared to Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto for his sometimes austere , intellectual designs . Lang is known for his minimalist , deconstructivist , and often severe designs . His fashion house became famous in the late 1980s for its simple but refined designs , its slim suits in black or white , its denim collection , and the use of high-tech fabrics . Helmut Lang fashions were sold in upscale department stores and through select retailers , as well as in signature Helmut Lang stores around the world . In 1999 , Lang entered into a partnership with Prada Group which resulted in the acquisition of the Helmut Lang brand by Prada in 2004 , and Mr . Langs departure from the label in 2005 . Prada consequently sold it to Link Theory of Japan in 2006 . Link Theory re-launched the Helmut Lang label with new designers in 2007 . Since then , Helmut Lang fashions have been available again at upscale department stores and signature Helmut Lang boutiques worldwide . New York City . Lang moved to New York in 1997 and subsequently set up his companys headquarters in 80 Greene St . in SoHo in 1998 . In New York , he decided in April 1998 , three days before his designs were to be presented to a New York audience , to show his collection through a live internet broadcast to the world , via the newly created companys web site . As a first in the fashion industry , ads for the brand could be seen on New York taxi tops from 1998 to 2004 . The following season he announced to show his collections not only before New York Fashion Week , but also before the Milan and Paris runway shows . As a result , with many American designers following suit , New York Fashion Week was permanently moved up six weeks to herald the established runway shows . From 2000 on , unconventional print ads for the brand were placed with National Geographic magazine . Helmut Lang fashion . Throughout the years , both a womens and mens line existed , kept under a single name and always presented in one fashion show . Underwear ( 1995 ) and jeans ( 1996 ) lines as well as accessories , such as footwear ( 1990 ) and fragrances ( 1999 ) were launched , but otherwise the brand was kept unified to solidify its identity and strength . The runway show venues for the Helmut Lang label were switched from Paris ( until 1998 ) to New York by Mr . Lang and back again to Paris by Prada ( from 2002 to 2005 ) . The collections/presentations used to be called ( working sessions ) by Mr . Lang . Prada partnership . In 1999 , Milan-based fashion house Prada acquired 51% of the Helmut Lang company in the course of a multi-brand strategy , which also included the acquisition of German fashion label Jil Sander . After alleged disputes with Prada Groups CEO Patrizio Bertelli on how the brand should be continued , and after Mr . Lang had sold his remaining shares to Prada in October 2004 , he left his own label in January 2005 . Lang joined the growing number of designer departures , including Jil Sander from her own label at Prada and Tom Ford from Gucci . However , Mr . Lang has publicly maintained that he had no problem with Mr . Bertelli . Acquisition by Link Theory . On March 17 , 2006 , Prada Group announced that , after six loss-making years , Link Theory Holdings ( LTH ) of Tokyo would be acquiring the Helmut Lang brand for an estimated €20 million . This came about three weeks after Prada had sold the Jil Sander label to British equity firm Change Capital Partners ( CCP ) . Already in spring 2005 , it had been rumored that Prada was trying to sell the label . Prada Group was said to want to concentrate on its core labels , Prada and Miu Miu , again . The Japanese holding company LTH , developer of the theory fashion label in Japan and the US , re-launched the Helmut Lang collections under the direction of a suitable designer for the spring/summer 2007 season ( presented in fall 2006 ) , in select boutiques worldwide as a contemporary brand . The new label is based out of New York City . It was never expected that Lang himself would return to the label that bears his name , although Chikara Sasake , president and chief executive of LTH , gave to understand that if Lang wants to come back , the door is always open . Helmut Lang brand re-launch . In May 2006 , it was announced that Michael and Nicole Colovos , an American-New Zealand designer couple , who formerly had their own Los Angeles-based denim label Habitual , had been installed by Link Theory as creative directors for the new Helmut Lang brand . From February 2007 , select upscale retailers such as Barneys or Bergdorf Goodman started to carry the spring/summer 2007 Helmut Lang contemporary sportswear collection . The design office has been set up in West Chelsea in New York . The collection , described as a commercial reduction of [ Mr . Langs ] fashion identity , has received quite favorable reviews even though it is clearly not seen as a continuation of the original line . The item prices in the collection are about 20% above those for comparable theory items and , hence , below the original Helmut Lang prices . Link Theory expects to generate US$ 8 million in revenues in 2008 , and make a profit in 2009 with the label . The company also announced that over the long term they intend to also establish exclusive Helmut Lang shops in the US , Europe and Japan . The Helmut Lang web site was re-activated at the end of 2006 and was fully launched in spring 2007 . Mr . Lang , who now resides on Long Island of independent means , is said not to be involved in the labels re-launch in any way . In February 2014 , Michael and Nicole Colovos , after eight years of being creative directors , left the company . The Colovos designed the 2014 Fall collection called Rough Terrain . In March 2017 , it was announced that in lieu of a creative designer , Helmut Lang would re-launch with Isabella Burley , editor of the British youth culture magazine Dazed & Confused , as “editor in residence.” In January 2018 , it was announced that Alix Browne would be appointed as editor-in-residence , replacing Isabella Burley . In August 2018 , the brand engaged in a series of layoffs after several years of profitability , with the aim to restructure the organization . Helmut Lang stores . Original stores ( until 2005 ) . All of the original , art-inspired signature Helmut Lang stores that existed in Vienna , Munich , Moscow , Saint Petersburg , Milan , Paris , New York , Hong Kong , Singapore , and Tokyo , as well as several stores-in-store in the Asian market , that existed between 1995 and 2005 have been closed . The last one to close was the Paris location in 2005 . New stores ( after 2007 ) . In March 2007 , Link Theory opened the first post-Prada signature Helmut Lang store in Tokyos fashionable Aoyama district . In Japan , the company has since then installed several Helmut Lang stores-in-store at local department stores . In August 2007 , a new freestanding Helmut Lang store was opened on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles . It is , after the Tokyo store , the second signature Helmut Lang store since the closing of the last original store in Paris . The store is adjacent to an existing theory store at 8424 Melrose Avenue . Another Helmut Lang store opened on September 28 , 2007 , on Maiden Lane in San Francisco , in the building previously occupied by Jil Sander . However , in April 2008 , this store was converted into a theory store . In New York City , a temporary pop-up shop opened in mid-December 2007 , while the company is apparently looking for a larger location in the Meatpacking District . May 8 , 2008 , saw the opening of a Helmut Lang outlet store at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in New York , however , this store has since closed . In May 2019 , the Melrose Avenue store in Los Angeles closed . Original fragrances . Three different perfumes were associated with the Helmut Lang label , produced in cooperation with Procter & Gamble , all of which were discontinued with the closing of the original brand in 2005 . - Helmut Lang Eau de Parfum - 2000 - Helmut Lang Eau de Cologne - 2000 - Helmut Lang Cuiron ( mens ) - 2002 - Helmut Lang Velviona - 2001 References . - Specific - General - Link Theory sets turnround goals for Helmut Lang ( Financial Times ) - Link-Theory fiscal year 2006 report ( Link-Theory ) - A new Helmut line , of sorts ( International Herald Tribune ) - WWD : Helmut Lang taps new designers ( Link-Theory ) - Fashion Wire Daily : Prada to Flog Helmut Lang to Link Theory Holdings ( Yahoo News ) - Helmut Langs new theory ( International Herald Tribune ) External links . - Official Helmut Lang website - Link Theory Holdings - Official theory web site