A buzz was in the air for designer Peter Do’s first collection for Helmut Lang on Friday afternoon. One of the season’s most anticipated shows, Do delivered with the help of Vietnamese-American writer Ocean Vuong, a friend whose words were spread across the concrete floor of the Lower East Side venue and printed across the front of shirts down the runway. There were sentimental nods to Do’s past, found in the trim running throughout crisp suiting inspired by the seatbelts of the taxis he took when he arrived to the U.S. as a teenager.

 The show was a tribute to New York with ample nods to Helmut Lang’s own ethos through subtle references like the sound of the subway doors opening over the speakers and images of the famous Helmut Lang taxi advertisement printed on shirting.

A mix of wearable pieces with elevated silhouettes, it was promising start to the designer’s tenure.