In May, Helmut Lang announced that designer Peter Do was their new creative director, and his debut collection, Spring/Summer 2024, would be presented at New York Fashion Week. Since then, anticipation for Do’s first collection with the brand has continued to grow. Could the buzzy young designer revive the once-fabled brand? Lang’s approach to minimalism has been often mimicked and rarely matched—how would Do usher in this new chapter?
Friday afternoon’s show answered any and all questions. Do’s first collection for Helmut Lang was inspired by New York City and featured hot pink billowing shirts, oversized blazers, slinky pants, and chiffon minidresses. It paid homage to the brand’s past while still being firmly rooted in the now.
The makeup for the show was primarily inspired by the collection itself. “I didn’t want to go too much down memory lane and focus on something that has already been done in the past,” explains lead makeup artist Dan Sallstrom backstage before the show. “We wanted to keep everything in the same world.”
For the look, Sallstrom opted to skip foundation, blush, and mascara. “We really wanted to stay in the world of grunge and [didn’t want anything] that looked too pretty,” says Sallstrom. “We really wanted to bring a toughness to the face.” A sharp graphic eye, in a variety of shades, stood out against the clean skin without feeling overdone. “We wanted to include the colors of the collection,” explains Sallstrom, “so you’ll see a lot of reds, yellows, whites, and fuchsias.”
Instead of creating a cat eye, which is drawn across the top of the lid and flicking upward at the corner, Sallstrom decided on a tapered straight line. “This look was all about making the eye appear harsher,” says Sallstrom “This gives the illusion of the eye sitting heavier [on the face] rather than lifting it.”
Head stylist for the show Jawara also wanted the hair to reflect this next chapter of Helmut Lang. “We looked at old Helmut Lang pictures from the 90s and we wanted to bring [that aesthetic] into the new age,” he shared backstage. A combination of products, including Bumble and bumble’s Bb Hair Gel and Bb Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat Protectant Leave In Conditioner Primer, were used to achieve a gritty, undone look and add texture to models with straight hair. “We’re also pinning the hair in little knots but the pins aren’t secure—we wanted everything to feel a bit unfinished,” explains Jawara. Some of the collection was incorporated—literally—into the hair looks. “We cut off some of the fabric from the dresses and made jersey bands for some of the models,” shares Jawara.
“We’re embracing people’s natural looks,” says Jawara. “With Peter Do, his pieces may look linear but if you look closer, there’s these small details that make it a bit more specific to each model. So we wanted to include little baby details to create a sense of individuality.”
Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat Protectant Leave In Conditioner Primer
Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
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