The billowing white curtains hanging from the ceiling at the Helmut Lang label s new West Chelsea headquarters Thursday hinted at the minimalist-yet-warm tone of the clothes about to make their debut. After two promising capsule showings (spring and fall 2007), this was to be the brand s first "real collection," as a rep called it, since being acquired by Link Theory in the wake of its founding designer s departure. The results? Well, let s just say that the art and media types who ve always favored the label won t need to abandon it just yet. Michael and Nicole Colovos s 23-look collection for spring 2008 echoed the eponymous Austrian s intellectually rigorous approach to fashion, while steering clear of slavish retread. The pieces clung to a minimal color palette of white, olive, and black, with a slightly softened silhouette (think voluminous hoods, extended shirts, drop crotches). As with the modern architecture the collection strove to evoke, the clothes deconstructed detailing ranged from playful (including a cotton blazer with stealthy bomber-style pockets) to borderline pretentious (pointless asymmetry, a cardigan that buttoned up both front and back). Fabrics were an inviting mix of finely woven cottons, supple lambskin, and high tech (an oversized white Crombie constructed of aluminum-fortified "techno crunch"). And an elegantly-proportioned assortment of footwear continued the season s sandal trend, most memorably a strap-heavy leather pair that, er, toed the line between provocative and overwrought. "We re not trying to walk in [Lang s] footsteps at all," Michael said afterward. Maybe so, though it must be comforting to know the path s so well marked.
