With New York Fashion Week in a state of flux, the fashion industry has been in need of a jolt of excitement. At ApparelMagic client Eckhaus Latta’s show this season, that is exactly what they got.
In a raw warehouse deep in Bushwick, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta’s spring collection was as unsettling and avant garde as always. Hems were uneven. Tops ended abruptly above the belly button or flashed a sliver of skin above mom jeans, and suits were tailored to hang far off the body.
If any of these items sound like a fashion faux-pas, that’s kind of the point. Eckhaus Latta excels at taking the unfashionable and uncomfortable and giving it a 180 degree spin until it has the downtown chic the label is known for. Everyone wearing Eckhaus Latta looks like an underground artist with an enigmatic personality and a fascinating oeuvre to match.
Their trademark knitwear was in full force here, a cutaway version in vermillion and wide pants rendered in mustard. Ending the show was a series of cloud-like sheer shifts, their ethereal powder-blue color contrasting with workwear pants worn below.
Adding to the wide variety of clothing on display, the casting was especially idiosyncratic. In a time when diversity is talked about more than ever, the designers recognized that models come in all colors, shapes, sizes, and ages. Their cast proved that minidresses can be worn–and worn well–above size 2 and that any age can wear a crop top.
To encapsulate the whole brand’s aesthetic in one look though, a pregnant model walked down the runway with belly bared and with paint in her hair. Eckhaus Latta’s vision is the future, and in this future we can all be runway stars.
