The indie kids came uptown Saturday night, mixing it up with the Rockefellers no less, at the Art Deco 630 Fifth Avenue, with its iconic bronze statue of Atlas holding the weight of the world outside.
Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta staked a claim to the luxe landmark for their brand Eckhaus Latta, which has been breaking new ground as of late, moving beyond its arty roots into increasingly sensual and sophisticated territory.
“We are good with grit and industrial spaces but we haven’t ever shown in a place with this sense of polish,” said Eckhaus. “At the same time, we wanted to have ease in the clothing, and do American sportswear through our own lens.”
Using deadstock distressed brown leather (like you’d see on a vintage flight jacket), they crafted a great-looking, zip-front, seam-detailed sleeveless dress, a slouchy oversized jacket, and baggy pants.
For denim, the duo collaborated with Unspun, a California start-up where everything is circularly woven, meaning zero waste. The partnership yielded fascinating tones and textures on barrel-legged jeans, including an eyelash fringe, a copper metallic tweed, and something resembling tree bark. “We put twine in there,” Latta explained. They also had more conventional blues, such as a zip-front denim maxiskirt, and a gold-washed oversized jean jacket.
They played with transparency on T-shirts, body-hugging dresses and slinky knits embellished here and there with bright strips of color, put their own spin on embroidered Western shirts, and managed to make lace separates look cool with squiggle seams, overlays and aprons.
Eckhaus Latta’s clothes are creative and commercial — more retailers should buy them, on Fifth Avenue even.