Creative director Joakim Andreasson, who oversaw Helmut Lang‘s studio and his transition from fashion designer to artist from 2005 to 2012, publishes an immersive book edited from over 10,300 photographs of Helmut Lang’s original creations prior to Spring/Summer 2005, as well as related documents.
Published by Baron editions, the book encapsulates photographs of clothing and accessories that were salvaged from a 2010 fire that ripped through the Soho, New York building that housed the former designer’s archives and were years later sold off on behalf of Lang by Andreasson on eBay and to private collectors.
“The photographs, candidly prepared as visual support for these sales, serve as an important and inimitable survey of Helmut Lang designs, with an edit pre-determined by catastrophic circumstances,” says the press release.
“The day after the fire, the building was completely blocked off,” says Andreasson. “The space that housed the clothing archives had a big hole in the middle of the floor and clothing was spread all over the floor, had been engulfed by the fire, and even been thrown out the windows. There were fallen clothing racks all over, resembling a large-scale pick-a-stick game. Thousands of garments were soaked in water and covered in ashes. It was overwhelming to think about how to start the recovery process.”
“Helmut Lang Archive dispersed by Joakim Andreasson” includes texts by Yale Breslin and Jeppe Ugelvig. The design of the book is inspired by clothing catalogues produced in the post war period and is sealed using fire tape. The book is enclosed in a skull archive box, which is usually used for storing human skull’s and other artefacts.
Born in Stockholm and based in Los Angeles, Joakim Andreasson is also the founder of Cultureedit in Los Angeles, an e-commerce site with a physical store and gallery at 6757 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, which today brings together some 50 ready-to-wear and accessory brands linked to queer culture. He is also the creator of a program of artist collaborations for Henzel Studio, the world’s leading brand for art rugs, which he curates and oversees.
Since 2013, Andreasson has managed all commercial and licensing activities of Tom of Finland Foundation, and has developed collaborations with brands that include JW Anderson, Diesel, Honey Fucking Dijon, Carne Bollente and CDLP.
Helmut Lang hired Andreasson again between 2014-2021 to oversee press relations, external communication and special projects.
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