September 8, 2019 |
It’s no secret that Mark Thomas and Thomas Cawson, the design duo now at the helm of Helmut Lang, have a lot to live up to. There was the man himself, who spent 15 years at the top of the fashion food chain with his eponymous brand stripping the ladies of luxury out of their couture gowns and into a plain white tee and a pair of jeans. Then there was Shayne Oliver, who’s ‘residency’ at the brand lasted a singular season. Yet in that short-lived stint, Oliver turned a quiet sensuality that ran in tangent with the brand’s ode to minimalism into an orgasmic moan you could hear through walls; skimpy bras slashed at the nipple, leather jockstraps clad with removable c**k rings. Debauchery in all corners.
Yesterday, Thomas and Cawson leaned more toward the design staples of the man who started it all. A chorus of sheer blouses, trousers and school-boy shorts were followed by washed-out metallic jackets and louche, putty-brown suiting. Sex was still a prominent undercurrent, similarly to how it was in the OG Lang days. Jeans with zippers trailing along the thigh, and street-centric twinsets and dresses spliced with latex detailing signaled the pair can do utilitarianism whilst still getting a little kinky. They have us intrigued.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
