Serving as a blend of bold colors and patterns layered on black and white garments, Helmut Lang presented their Spring-Summer 2024 collection at New York Fashion Week on September 8, 2023–with the collection honoring family, self-discovery, and freedom in the most transparent of ways. Heralding itself as the return of 32-year-old fashion designer Peter Do, the collection comes as a mixture of minimalist 90s attire with a touch of literary foray from poet and essayist Ocean Vuong. Do has been known as an elusive character in the world of fashion and Helmut Lang’s SS24 collection has permeated as just that – a timeless combination of Vuong’s expressionism and Do’s minimalism.

The show consisted of a blend of contrasting colors, with pieces ranging from black leather dresses and boots, suits embellished in satin, and denim pieces flared with patterns and paired with cotton tanks imbued with Vuong’s quotes. Every piece looked as though it was intricately placed on each model–every outfit telling its own story of freedom and self-realization through the metaphors of a car. With denim silhouettes complimenting its patent leather boots to patches of yellow and pink transcending the simplicity of black dress pants and shirts, Helmut Lang’s SS24 collection is suspended in its own literary world.  

It’s no surprise the collection carries a voice in its pieces with Ocean Vuong contributing to the designs in the most personal way possible–by adding motifs, character, and symbolism to many of the garments showcased. He describes Peter Do’s choice of embedding the many themes behind a car as one that embraces the journey to inner peace, with the many destinations of the drive crafting a bridge from our initial beginnings to the many memories we’ve cultivated along the way.  In its essence, Helmut Lang’s collection transcends the physical world, entering one fashioned beyond the literal and into the abstract.