Once, back in the early 2000s, I owned a black Helmut Lang pantsuit. That was a time when even the word “pantsuit” kind of made me cringe, but there was something about how this one was cut — three-button, single-breasted jacket and flat-front (but louche) pants — that skewed all its establishment implications. I wore it until I wore it out, and have been in mourning for it ever since. When I talk about it, which I still do, there is almost always another person who will come up to me with a story of their Helmut Lang. Mr. Lang wanted to go first, so he hopscotched to early September, and the entire city went with him.

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Persons: Helmut Lang pantsuit, Helmut Lang, Lang Organizations: New York, Paris ., Mr, Retailing Locations: New, Paris, Paris . New York