Helmut Lang 1998 Painter Denim

Helmut Lang introduced the painter denim for Spring Summer 1998, a straight five-pocket cut modelled on the rigid Levi's 501 and finished by hand with strokes of off-white, black and grey paint. Each pair was washed and sanded so the fabric read as already worked in, a piece of painter's workwear translated into a designer wardrobe. Alexander McQueen was photographed in his own pair in 1999, and the model has since been imitated by labels from Diesel to Fear of God.