In designing their Fall 2023 ready-to-wear collection, staged inside the Performance Space New York, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta sought ingenuity from The New Yorker writer Rachel Aviv’s introductory book Strangers to Ourselves, from which a sentence included in the brand’s press release read: “Culture shapes the scripts that expressions of distress will follow.” By doing so, this was ultimately a collection which both investigated and translated darker, broodier, yet still sensual tropes, from the pitch-black room, in which it was staged, illuminated solely by spotlights, to the nondescript runway on which the models walked soundtracked by electronic duo Demdike Stare.
Models navigated the space dressed in jersey and sheer knit dresses and tops, moulded to, and exposing of their silhouettes, oversized tailoring, as introduced in the opening look, played on the increasingly indeterminable balance between formal and casual, inside-out seams decorated long sleeved tops, creating minuscule slashes in the fabric and in look twenty-eight an orange-hued dress, shaped from organza, clung to its wearers form.
Colour when and where it was used, was not only exacerbated by the darkness of the clothes paired with it, but brought a vivacity to an otherwise sombre presentation, a pair of lime green trousers for example was paired with a midnight black top, an arresting oversized pink bomber jacket, hand knitted in Bolivia made an appearance in look seventeen, and jeans coated with indigo, worn together with sheer vest tops, gleamed underneath the lights. Images shared by Eckhaus Latta with us, depicting runway and backstage moments further demonstrates the endless possibilities when a lauded brand such as this, seeks to strike a balance between brutality and tranquillity, simplicity and fluidity.
Colour when and where it was used, was not only exacerbated by the darkness of the clothes paired with it, but brought a vivacity to an otherwise sombre presentation, a pair of lime green trousers for example was paired with a midnight black top, an arresting oversized pink bomber jacket, hand knitted in Bolivia made an appearance in look seventeen, and jeans coated with indigo, worn together with sheer vest tops, gleamed underneath the lights. Images shared by Eckhaus Latta with us, depicting runway and backstage moments further demonstrates the endless possibilities when a lauded brand such as this, seeks to strike a balance between brutality and tranquillity, simplicity and fluidity.
