With a radically intermedia approach, Helmut Lang shattered traditional norms and set new standards for clothing, graphic design, staging, architecture, experimental branding, interdisciplinary collaboration, and digital communication with uncompromising foresight. In 1998 Lang became the first designer to stream a runway show online, anticipating the global shift in how fashion would be experienced. Simultaneously, he launched over 1,000 taxi-top ads to promote the new website, becoming a landmark feature of New York City.

Lang’s work was defined not just as clothing, but as a medium of communication and part of a larger cultural narrative. His fashion presentations, known as “Séance de Travail” (work session) as well as his flagship stores in New York and Paris were statements for a strategic rethinking that prioritized experience over mere consumption.

Through his collaborations with artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Jenny Holzer, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jürgen Teller, and many others, he created a new visual language that redefined the boundaries between creative disciplines, cementing his role and legacy in fashion and culture until today.

The exhibition offers an unprecedented insight into the visionary designer and artist’s mindset. It forgoes the display of physical garments in favor of a contemporary, mixed media presentation featuring large-scale, site-specific installations as well as selected original materials from both the MAK Helmut Lang Archive and the artist’s own archive.

Opening 
Andreas Babler, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport 
 
On the exhibition  
Lilli Hollein, General Director, MAK 
Marlies Wirth, Curator Digital Culture and Design Collection 

Cocktails hosted by RAUSCH Bar

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Free admission to the opening

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Partner