On View: Helmut Lang's First Archival Exhibition at MAK
Art — 23.12.25
Words: Gabriella Onessimo
For the first time, the full scope of Helmut Lang’s archive is open to the public. Helmut Lang: Séance de Travail 1986–2005, now on view at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts, offers an immersive look at nearly two decades of work by one of fashion’s most influential—and elusive—figures.
Excerpts from the MAK Helmut Lang Archive
© kunst-dokumentation.com
Elfie Semotan at Helmut Lang Collection Hommes Femmes, Séance de Travail Défilé, Fall/Winter 1993–94 (1993).
Staged in Lang’s hometown, the exhibition traces his output from 1986 to 2005 through a series of site-specific installations that function as both a retrospective and a blueprint of the inner workings of a creative mind.
The exhibition draws from the MAK Helmut Lang Archive, the only official public archive of the designer’s work. In 2011, Lang donated approximately 10,000 pieces—garments, documentation, and materials—to the museum, forming the foundation for a living archive that traces his evolution as a minimalist visionary in fashion.
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- Backstage photograph of Kirsten Owen by Juergen Teller, Helmut Lang Collection Hommes Femmes, Séance de Travail Défilé, Fall/Winter 1997–98, Paris, 1997.
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- Laser print of a photograph of a made-to-measure coat for Sofia Coppola (2004).
Curated by Marlies Wirth, the presentation focuses on process as much as product, tracking the progression of design from conception to completion and breaking down the building blocks of a creative psyche.
Page from a lookbook, Look 23, Helmut Lang Collection Hommes Femmes, Séance de Travail Défilé, Fall/Winter 2003–04, 2003.
That approach is reflected in the exhibition’s structure. Organized around the concept of séance de travail—a working session—the show is divided into thematic chapters: Identity, Space, Media and Cultural Presence, Artist Collaborations, and Backstage. Each realm is experienced through runway seating charts, advertisements, backstage footage, and a wealth of ephemera.
Helmut Lang Parfums insert from The New York Times, text by Jenny Holzer, 2001.
“The MAK archive is meant to be a ‘living archive.’ I hope it inspires others to have the courage to find their own voice,” Lang said in a press statement. “The past is never easier than the present; the present is always the opportunity.”
Helmut Lang: Séance de Travail 1986–2005 is currently on view at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) until May 3, 2026. All images are courtesy of the MAK Helmut Lang Archive and hl-art.