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Collections

Helmut Lang
VestSpring/Summer 2004

Not on view
Mannequin wearing a sleeveless black leather biker vest covered in colorful pinback buttons and badges, styled over a striped shirt with black trousers and black oxford shoes
Heavily worn black leather biker vest displayed on a gray mannequin, sleeves cut off with frayed edges, densely covered on the right chest and shoulder with layered multicolored pin-back buttons and badges, with silver zipper hardware and scuffed, distressed surface throughout.
Black leather motorcycle vest heavily adorned with densely layered, weathered circular pin-back badges in muted reds, yellows, and grays, with frayed fabric at the shoulders and painted silver and white markings on the surface, displayed on a mannequin.
Detail of a black leather jacket densely covered with flattened and weathered bottle caps in red, yellow, white, and brown, affixed with nails or wire, alongside foil, frayed fiber, and partially visible zippers.
Designer
Helmut Lang
Austria, active Austria, Vienna and United States, New York, born 1956
Design House
Helmut Lang
Austria, Vienna and United States, New York, New York City, founded 1986
Title
Vest
Place Made
United States, New York
Date Made
Spring/Summer 2004
Medium
Leather, synthetic/cotton felt (interfacing), metal bottle caps, and laminated foil
Dimensions
24 in. (60.96 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of HL-ART
Accession Number
M.2009.116.7.1
Classification
Costumes
Collecting Area
Costume and Textiles
Selected Bibliography
  • Takeda, Sharon Sadako, Kaye Durland Spilker, and Clarrisa M. Esguerra. Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich: DelMonico Books-Prestel, 2016.
  • Chrisman-Campbell, Kimberly. "Reigning Men." Ornament 39, no.1 (2016): 34-39.

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