Helmut Lang To Collaborate With Saint Laurent For Upcoming Artworks

Words by Jianne Soriano

September 30, 2020

Cover Saint Laurent reveals collaboration with artist Helmut Lung (Photo: Courtesy of Saint Laurent)

The collaborative will feature unfinished and deserted items from Saint Laurent as raw materials for a set of unique sculptures

In Saint Laurent Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello's quest for new partnerships and ideas to expand the identity of the brand, he announced plans to team up with designer-turned-artist Helmut Lang titled for a collaborative effort titled "Helmut Lang x Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent Rive Droite."

Vaccarello specifically handpicked Lang, whose body of work reflects a mix of minimalism, modernity and restrained opulence that echoes to his own vision. Speaking on his admiration for the artist, "Helmut has been part of [my] inspiration as a designer but also as a person who always made the right choice."

Above The upcoming sculptures will use discarded materials from past Saint Laurent collections (Photo: Courtesy of Saint Laurent)

Above The process recalls Lang's own work with "fabric confetti" (Photo: Courtesy of Saint Laurent)

For this collaboration, Vaccarello invited Lang to work with past Saint Laurent collections and to transmute his creations for the house into new life using clothing and accessory prototypes, garments and jewels left unfinished as well as discarded materials.

The leftover materials will be shredded, mixed with a pigmented resign then moulded into aluminium—transforming the former fashion objects into unique textures for the upcoming artworks.

This process of using unwanted materials and turning them into new creations is reminiscent of Lang's own work. In 2005, when he left his namesake label, he destroyed about 6000-8000 pieces of clothing in his archive that survived a 2010 fire and used the "fabric confetti" for his art.

The sculptures will be exhibited at the Rive Droite location in Paris and then to Los Angeles. All the items on display will be available for sale.

Find the full press release here.