1998 Classic T-Shirt with HELMUTLANG.COM Print

Size M: Best for an IT 48 - 38 Chest - S/M or an IT 46 - 36 Chest - S. Can also be worn by women sized between UK 10 - US 08 and UK 14 - US 12.

Helmut Lang website print T-shirt from A/W 1998-1999. In brand new condition without tags. Made in Italy.

'Such was the excitement surrounding Lang's arrival in New York that there could be no possible resistance to this message on the runway. Nevertheless, the idea of appearing in the New York celebrity spotlight made him balk. As anticipation escalated, he canceled his show on March 31 and threw fashion editors into an uproar by posting his collection on the Internet instead. "I felt the whole focus on what we were doing was building up to a major event, and suddenly it was an issue for me," Lang says. "I'd been thinking about using the Internet for a long time, so it just seemed the moment to do it. It also felt right to keep contact with Europe, because it was the first season we didn't do a show in Paris. We could be global, everyone could see the clothes at the same time. It's democratic." [...] The experiment was a deliberate challenge to the voracious norms of the fashion system, a typical Helmut Lang bid to seize control of his own output and image.'

- Helmut Lang feature, Harper's Bazaar September 1998

1998 was a very important year for Helmut Lang. The company relocated its offices from Vienna to Manhattan, making it the first fashion house to change continent, while the runway presentations move from Paris to New York. Later that year, helmutlang.com was launched and A/W 1998-1999 was the first fashion collection to be presented online. In his typically subtle manner, Lang created this piece to introduce his new website address.

Archetypal in its simplicity, the T-shirt has a trim silhouette with a medium crew neckline (pictured: similar designs from S/S 98 and A/W 99). The fabric is fine cotton jersey with a high thread count that lends it a very smooth texture and soft drape. High-quality materials like this consistently set apart Lang's luxurious basics from those of his contemporaries. Like many of the designs from the period, the printed design is located on the upper back. It consists of a bold HELMUTLANG print in beige-coloured condensed typeface, accompanied by smaller-sized 'www' and 'com' above and below it. The simplicity and ambiguity of the design demonstrates the effortless sophistication that characterises much of Lang's output, and has undoubtedly inspired a new wave of designers such as Demna Gvasalia of VETEMENTS. The clean design is finished with narrow self-fabric binding around the neckline.

An exceptionally rare find from a defining moment in Lang's venerated career, this piece combines the Austrian designer's streamlined approach with an interesting narrative that is now part of contemporary fashion history. In unworn condition despite its age.