Together with curator Marlies Wirth, graphic designer and professor Oliver Kartak, and the design collective E-Shirt.eu, this event offers a behind-the-scenes look at a label. The discussion explores subversive methods, the development of aesthetic concepts, and the role of graphic design in building a brand. It also examines Helmut Lang’s innovative design approach in the 1990s and its relevance to contemporary positions. Afterwards, there will be time to explore the exhibition at leisure before the evening concludes with drinks and music in the foyer.

HELMUT LANG BACKSTAGE
Doors open: 6 PM | Entrance BACKSTAGE, Weiskirchnerstraße 3, 1010 Vienna
6:15 PM Talk with Marlies Wirth, Oliver Kartak, Timmy & Pia (E-Shirt.eu)
Following the talk exclusive access to the HELMUT LANG exhibition |
Drinks & Music Live Act by GATTO MUSiC in the foyer

 

Oliver Kartak is a designer, artist, and researcher, and Professor of Design and Narrative Media at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. He brings nearly 40 years of experience in brand identity, communication design, photography, and film direction. At the core of his teaching are deeply human capabilities: empathy, ethical thinking, and structural thinking. Kartak researches human–AI collaboration in design education. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the design studio DMC with Neville Brody, leading the development of channel identities for TV stations such as VIVA, VIVA2, TM3, HOT, and PREMIERE Digital. In 1996, he established his own studio, directing commercials and TV formats and producing photographic work published in magazines such as Purple Magazine and Dazed & Confused. His work in design and photography also includes vinyl and CD covers for labels such as Kruder & Dorfmeister’s G-Stone Recordings, as well as major international record labels. 

E-Shirt.eu is an interdisciplinary project by Timmy and Pia. Timmy, a fashion designer with over ten years of experience in the fashion industry, aims to rethink fashion sustainably. Pia, an architect, contributes expertise in sustainability and circular economy. Under the title E(cological)-Shirt, the project explores resource-conscious textile production. Its focus is the development and production of T-shirts from reclaimed textiles—a deliberate response to overproduction and the growing burden of textile waste in the fashion industry. The T-shirt is chosen as a timeless archetype: enduring in form while serving as one of the most effective wearable media for ideas, graphic expression, and cultural codes.

GATTO is a duo of fashion designers who fuse music and fashion into a unified artistic vision. Their work exists at the intersection of visual identity and sound, transforming design concepts into immersive sonic experiences. Operating within electronic genres such as electroclash, EDM, gabber, and experimental electronic music, GATTO creates a distinctive aesthetic that is both high-energy and avant-garde. With the launch of their own imprint, GATTO MUSiC, they have begun releasing original productions that reflect their multidisciplinary approach. Their live performances feature these tracks, offering a dynamic translation of their creative universe from studio to stage.


 

yMAK Team
Sophie Geyer, Arthur Bernoth, Nóra Engelputzeder, Nina Gstaltner, Ninon Hauswirth, Nicole Schadensteiner, Gizem Sarkan