The MAK is showing a temporary intervention by Helmut Lang in the HELMUT LANG ARCHIVE, questioning the archive as a simultaneous collection, storage, and exhibition place, as a store of memories, and the potential of its use. The MAK is the only institution worldwide where the history of Helmut Lang’s brand development and identity can be traced. Since retiring from the fashion industry in 2005, the 1956-born Austrian has concentrated on his artistic work, and 20 international museums have received his donations.
With HELMUT LANG. SÉANCE DE TRAVAIL 1986–2005 / Excerpts from the MAK Helmut Lang Archive, the MAK presents the first comprehensive exhibition of Helmut Lang’s oeuvre, offering a renewed understanding of his contribution to culture. Based on the largest and only official public archive dedicated to his legacy—which has been part of the MAK Collection since 2011—the exhibition provides profound and unprecedented insight into Helmut Lang’s mindset and creative process.
Conceived as a mixed media presentation featuring large-scale, site-specific installations, the exhibition transcends the conventions of a classical fashion exhibition and traces how his radical vision in the years 1986–2005 transformed the perception of fashion, identity, and visual communication at a global scale.
With his intermedia approach, Lang challenged both established industry norms and societal conventions, fusing uncompromising rigor with a deeply human understanding. What emerged was a quietly radical stance grounded in loyalty to character and the courage to experiment. Anticipating ideas long before they entered the zeitgeist, he translated them onto a global stage while maintaining a critical distance from trend cycles. resulting in a body of work that remains conceptually and aesthetically relevant to this day.
The curatorial framework of the exhibition is rooted in the MAK Helmut Lang Archive, representing Lang’s notion of the séance de travail, or “work session,” as a process of continuous experimentation, refinement, and renewal. Langs pioneering strategies form a central narrative: Along the thematic chapters – IDENTITY, SPACE, SÉANCE DE TRAVAIL, MEDIA & CULTURAL PRESENCE, ARTIST COLLABORATIONS, and BACKSTAGE – the exhibition reflects both the complexity and the coherence of Lang’s work.as part of a broader cultural narrative.
Working across Vienna, Paris, and New York, Lang redefined the role of fashion within architecture, art, media, and urban culture, establishing a distinctive aesthetic vocabulary that demonstrates his belief that fashion could function as an intellectual, sensorial, and cultural proposition rather than a product. In campaigns, urban interventions, flagship stores, and collaborations with artists working in various mediums, he merged the boundaries between creative disciplines and established a new form of visibility through relevance, prioritizing emotional resonance and anticipating contemporary discourse on authenticity, transparency, and the politics of representation.
Defined by interdisciplinary thinking, egalitarianism, cultural sensitivity, and personal commitment Helmut Lang did more than write fashion history. His oeuvre between 1986 and 2005 demonstrates how a rigorously articulated vision can shift social and individual paradigms. making him a pivotal figure and source of inspiration in culture for contemporary and future generations.
“The MAK archive is meant to be a ‘living archive.’ I hope it inspires others to have the courage to find their own voice. The past is never easier than the present; the present is always the opportunity.”
—Helmut Lang
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Curator, Scenographic Idea:
Marlies Wirth, Curator Digital Culture and MAK Design Collection
Scientific Advisor:
Lara Steinhäußer, Curator MAK Textiles and Carpets Collection
Project Assistance and Visualization of the Scenographic Idea:
Felix Kofler, MAK Design Collection
Assistance and Research MAK Helmut Lang Archive:
Helena Grünsteidl, MAK Textiles and Carpets Collection,Nicole Miltner, Museum Database
Exhibition Design:
Philipp Krummel
Graphic Design:
Lisa Penz, David Gallo
