Eckhaus Latta was showing in East Williamsburg long before this year’s mass exodus off the island. But that’s exactly the point—or the absence of one actually. They have been silently showing before there it was this year’s massive trend not even to be ahead of the trend or to create the trend; it was purely for the purpose that they wanted to. The bicoastal brand operates directly in between, in the gray area not marked by definitions. Taking just a quick glance at the knitwear and the denim it is not difficult to understand why it had amassed such a cult following and sitting in their quiet, empty industrial warehouse in Brooklyn, I understood how.
The show was intimate, and I don’t mean to use the word in the same way PR companies respond to request grids. It is a word that the designer duo has long used to describe their creative and casting process. It was large in attendance, love, and support, but intimate in performance. The show was free flowing and guided by the instinctual direction that the clothes evoked. The bare setting and fluorescent lighting left nothing to hide in their clothing—nor were they trying to hide by any means. The collection exemplified what Eckhaus does best, beautiful knits, loose fitting suits, and prints that bend your mind the same way their silhouettes bend binary gender norms. The clothing operates silently off track of ‘normal’ but has never once veered towards kitsch. Throughout the room from those in attendance, there was an undeniable organic appreciation and respect for the brand. If you know you know, and if you don’t know, that’s okay too, you know?
Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta felt limited by the commercial sphere and almost immediately set to reject the restrictions of corporate overhead and the binding mechanisms of today’s digital consumer marketing. With the increasing oversaturation of the digital sphere, there is an increasing dependence on the use of entertainment and performance at a show. We all want to post, but we’re all tired of watching. The lack of curation and overwhelming amounts of content, especially during the long enduring craze that is fashion month craves an algorithm approved moment.
It is clear how the absence of buzzwords and ‘drop’ culture has created such an organic and influential following. Despite their recognized use of interdisciplinary aspects in their shows—from including live performance art to their mixing of textiles, it has never once become a distraction or a crutch. If anything, the absence of noise in the presence of so many others who are screaming and clambering to create hype ensures the authenticity of their influence.
The community it cultivates is reflective of the qualities they propose: liberating, non traditional and organic in creation. If there’s no hype, no hashtag, no drop, how else are you going to ‘know’ if not for genuine appreciation for the clothing and the creative community that they have garnered around them?