5 May 2026  The exhibition "Helmut Lang. Séance de Travail 1986–2005 / Excerpts from the MAK Helmut Lang Archive" at the MAK in Vienna closed on 3 May 2026 with 69,650 visitors. According to the museum's press release distributed yesterday, the show ranks among the most successful exhibitions in the institution's history and exceeded previous high-attendance projects. Strong attendance and international media echoFrom its opening in December 2025, the exhibition attracted sustained public interest. The MAK reported a wide international media response, with coverage in fashion and culture publications as well as strong visibility on social media platforms. The audience included both younger visitors and professionals connected to Lang's career.The exhibition's concept, curated by Marlies Wirth, combined large-scale installations, archival material, and moving image. It moved beyond a traditional fashion display and positioned Helmut Lang's work within a broader cultural and artistic context. From fashion to brand and imageThe show presented a comprehensive view of Lang's practice between 1986 and 2005. It focused on his approach to fashion as part of a wider system that includes branding, shop design, advertising, and artistic strategies. Visitors encountered garments alongside visual campaigns, spatial concepts, and documentation of runway shows.This holistic perspective highlighted Lang's influence on how fashion communicates and operates as a cultural language. The exhibition emphasized process and thinking rather than only finished products. Archive as living structureA key element of the project is the MAK Helmut Lang Archive, which remains accessible in the MAK Design Lab. A temporary intervention by Lang reflects on the archive itself as a place of storage, memory, and interpretation.This raises a broader question: archives are not static repositories but active systems that shape how design history is understood. The MAK's ongoing work with its collections—through loans to exhibitions and continuous reinstallation of permanent displays such as "Textiles and Carpets"—shows a museum model based on constant re-evaluation. Fashion focus under Lilli HolleinFashion has become a recurring theme at the MAK under director Lilli Hollein, who was recently reappointed for another five-year term from September 2026 to August 2031. With a background in design and as co-founder of Vienna Design Week, Hollein is known for interdisciplinary and socially engaged exhibition concepts.Her program places emphasis on diversity and the visibility of women in design and art. This is reflected in current exhibitions such as those dedicated to textile artist, designer Ursi Fürtler and ceramic sculptor Vally Wieselthier. At the same time, the MAK is restructuring its collections into new permanent displays, including "Vienna 1900" and "Textiles and Carpets," offering long-term perspectives on design history. Within this framework, fashion is treated not as an isolated field but as part of a wider cultural and material discourse. For observers of fashion and textiles, the MAK's program has become one of the most relevant institutional platforms in Vienna. Looking aheadThe exhibition program with relevance for fashion and design continues at the MAK. From 10 June to 27 September 2026, "Glanzstücke: Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry × Masterpieces from the MAK Collection" brings together around 500 objects, placing high jewelry in dialogue with applied arts across centuries. The exhibition extends the museum's approach of connecting design disciplines and historical contexts.The strong response to the Helmut Lang exhibition suggests that this strategy—linking archive, contemporary relevance, and cross-disciplinary narratives—resonates with audiences. Image: Exhibition view of '“Helmut Lang. Séance de Travail 1986–2005” at MAK Vienna, showing a large-scale installation with runway video and graphic floor layout. © kunst-dokumentation.com/MAK |