Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta marked 10 years in business by celebrating the two tenets of their brand — craft and community — and taking over the abandoned Essex Street Market to give it one last burst of creative energy before it’s demolished to make way for luxury condominiums.
“It’s 10 years, but this wasn’t meant to be too self-reflective,” Eckhaus explained backstage post show. “We weren’t trying to nod to any one thing we’ve done, more so to our approach,” Latta added.
“Over the years we’ve found a confidence in what we do, we now have enough experience to play more,” he said, speaking to the wide range of pieces they create. “We want to make things we want, not the things we think we are supposed to make,” Latta said highlighting the difference between what is expected and what is the DNA of the brand.
The collection did not disappoint with the designers updating their well-established codes: sheer asymmetric tops, spidery knits — including some made with yarn made from polyfill wrapped in cotton to great 3D effects — and deconstructed denim, adding standout silver chain mail dresses and tops.
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Over the course of a decade the brand has firmly resonated with customers, birthing stand-alone stores, a mix of wholesale accounts, footwear, a thriving e-commerce business and a growing menswear business.
The brand culture came through most pronounced in the casting, as they chose models who are longtime brand friends, including Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Susan Cianciolo and Paloma Elsesser, who have seen their own careers rise alongside the design duo’s. “Hari Nef cast one of our early shows and then the next season she was signed,” Eckhaus said.