DenimHunt

It's official. The Spring/Summer 2011 collections are here. Resort/Holiday will be hitting stores soon and showrooms are filling up with the new season. Of course we won't be able to populate our wardrobes with them for months, but we can salivate over them and pick our favorites now in magazine editorials and blogs.

Helmut Lang Mens is one of the first Spring/Summer 2011 collections I've been able to preview and though I've received lookbooks of the luxury brand in the past, this was my first visit to their showroom. The brand is well known for minimalist design and arthouse details and I was excited to see what was coming down the pipeline for this upcoming season. I will admit, I was expecting to be wowed. I will also admit, I was not disappointed.

The men's collection is produced in Japan under the lead of designer Naoki Takizawa, formerly of Issey Miyake Mens. The full range is offered in Japan and Europe but is edited down for the US market which, I assume, is because American men tend to be more fashionably tame compared with other regions. Whether that was the case or not, there were enough standout pieces and subtly cool design details that I wanted to look up the items that were held back.

There were only a few denim pieces within the collection as this was not Helmut Lang's dedicated denim line. Only one silhouette was used throughout which was a basic straight leg jean; a fit that tends to work well on most body types. Therefore, the focus was not