Helmut Lang, the Austrian designer and artist best known for his minimalist, deconstructive fashions in the 1990s, has reportedly sold his oceanfront East Hampton estate to his neighbors.
In 2020, Lang sold a portion of his Tyson Lane property to his neighbor, John B. Hess, CEO of Hess Corp. Now Hess and another neighbor, Howard Marks, the billionaire co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, have purchased the rest for a total of approximately $70 million, according to agents familiar with the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.
Hess reportedly paid about $30 million for 1.1 acres and Marks, the largest investor in distressed securities worldwide, has paid approximately $40 million for roughly 1.6 acres.
Like Hess, Marks has amassed a real estate compound over the last decade or so. In 2010, he bought television and branding professional Donny Deutsch’s Further Lane property for $30 million and, in 2019, he purchased Roy and Barbara Zuckerberg’s estate, behind his Further Lane property and alongside Lang’s Tyson Lane estate, in a deal worth a combined $30 million, The New York Post reported at the time.
In June of 2019, Behind The Hedges reported that Jane Gill of Saunders & Associates was quietly marketing two of Lang’s parcels on Tyson Lane, but not the third one, which held the 8,700-square-foot main house, because he hadn’t found another property he wanted to buy.
History of Helmut Lang’s East Hampton Estate
Lang purchased 6, 8, and 10 Tyson Lane in 1999, reportedly outbidding Jerry Seinfeld for the properties. According to records, Lang purchased 8 Tyson Lane for $8.7 million. A limited liability company tied to Lang purchased 10 Tyson Lane that same year for $6 million. The flag lot went for $800,000.
The property at 6 Tyson Lane, a vacant 0.84 flag lot behind 8 Tyson, was sold for $9 million in July of 2020. Gzmdw LLC, which lists Hess as the principal, is the owner.
Hess has now purchased 8 Tyson Lane with Lang’s main house on it. Marks bought 10 Tyson Lane with 1.6 acres on the ocean with three outbuildings on it, including a guest house and a garage.
Lang and his life partner, Edward Pavlick, will get to remain in the Tyson Lane home for two years, WSJ reported.
Before Lang purchased the property, parts of it were reportedly rented to Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, Architectural Digest reported in 2019. “Barbra Streisand once spent the month of July at the main house, and the previous owners lent a cottage to the editing team of Schindler’s List. Famed violinist Itzhak Perlman reportedly was another guest,” the article said.
Lang left fashion in 2005 and has since dedicated himself to sculpting. He has even shown his work in European museums and art spaces.
Lang’s private art studio is adjacent to the main house, both of which are restored barns that date back to the 18th century, Paper City magazine reported after a studio visit in 2016. The barn he uses as a studio was a gift from heiress Adelaide de Menil before she sold her property. (Many antique barns were relocated throughout East Hampton and several make up what is the East Hampton Town Hall campus.)
“Post-studio tour, Lang, Pavlick and Abe [their dog] guided us to their unassuming home for lunch,” the magazine wrote of the visit. “We passed an organic garden where Lang grows vegetables and herbs and tends to a coop of chickens. Circa 1790, the former barn took years to renovate — a true labor of love. It now shares the subtle modernist and minimalist style that he personifies, shrouded by the historical importance of the 200-year-old dwelling. The purest of white walls reflect daylight throughout the low-ceilinged rooms, which are punctuated with raw wooden beams, window and door frames stripped of any modern finishes.”
We are wondering if Lang has found a new property in the Hamptons or is he still looking?
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