When Eckhaus Latta arrived in New York in 2012, the brand founded by two Rhode Island School of Design grads was immediately deemed crafty, arty, and indie. The last label stuck: After 10 years in business, Eckhaus Latta is one of New York’s strongest standing independent labels, with two brick-and-mortar stores, an e-commerce business, and admirers across the country, from Los Angeles to New York. Its 10th-anniversary show at the former Essex Market affirmed that after a decade of independence, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta are still charting their own course in fashion.
Soundtracked by noise musician Brian Chippendale, nestled somewhere between the empty shelves and frozen food displays, in collaboration with DJ Doss, the show danced between Eckhaus Latta signatures. Sheer, glittery knits were slashed open at the back; minidresses were cut on a square edge; and tailoring was slit to reveal a spine, a thigh, or a breast. Worn by the brand’s friends and collaborators, including David Moses, Hari Nef, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Thistle Brown, Cole Mohr, and Paloma Elsesser, the collection was a summation of everything Eckhaus Latta has built. It was cool, unfussy ready-to-wear with undertones of kink, craft, and community.
But fall 2022 was also a push to expand the EL repertoire. “We didn’t want to be nostalgic or retrospective,” said Eckhaus postshow. “But we did want to bring back the things that we loved from our early collections, the handwork especially,” added Latta. The chain-mail pieces that closed the show, graphically sliced up to be equal parts erotic and acerbic, were handmade in the brand’s atelier. “It took months!” said Eckhaus, laughing. Hand-darned jeans and tops offered more commercially viable options. The irony of Eckhaus Latta’s 10 years is that while its strange handmade vests, dresses, and tops are among the most compelling clothing of NYFW, its business drivers have been the much-loved EL jeans and dip-dyed tees. But like every indie banger or jazz tune, the notes must resolve in the end. May Eckhaus Latta’s next 10 years be about furthering the bond between its tender handwork and commercial hits.
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