Helmut Lang creates personal dating ads for Pre-Fall 2018
May 17, 2018
Okay but honestly – can we tone down the obsession with dating? Following the hype of Tinder, Grinder, Bumble, Happn (and the list goes on), Facebook just recently announced the upcoming launch of its own dating service and someone’s even created a Yeezy Dating website – strictly for Yeezy fans only.
And as of last night, Helmut Lang is throwing it back to life pre-Tinder and all those ‘90s dating shows and personal dating ads with their Pre-Fall 2018 campaign. A series of 12 grainy dating ads featuring a handful of New York’s singles – dressed in Helmut Lang’s new seasonal offerings, of course – have been shared on Helmut Lang’s official Instagram account. Playing into the millennial obsession with the era, this campaign also cheekily nods to its glory years when Helmut Lang was one of the most influential designers of the nineties.
“I’ve always been super obsessed with the unique verbiage that goes with personal ads,” says Ava Nirui, Helmut Lang’s digital editor to Vogue. “I recently had a realization that I’m constantly matchmaking friends and thought it would be fun to invite these friends (and friends of friends) to be a part of the Helmut Lang community, while potentially helping them find love in their lives.”
This is cute but I wouldn’t go as far as saying that this is “the perfection solution to the endless frustrations of Tinder hookups” as Paper Magazine have suggested. It brings to mind the groundbreaking SK-II Marriage Market Takeover campaign, which is significantly more relevant to the struggles and realities of dating in the modern world – especially for women in Asia. It brought to light the ‘marriage market’ that takes place in many cities all over China where parents post and match personal ads in hopes to marry off their daughters – or ‘Sheng Nu’ (read: leftover women).
As for the clothes? They’re all available to shop now online.
If you see anyone you fancy, email [email protected] for a chance to connect – and if that doesn’t work, how about we all try meeting people the traditional way by letting things just happen – difficult though it may be. God knows, the digital age and FOMO gives us enough pressure as it is.
