Purple Diary
[November 10 2014]
Eckhaus Latta curate this months TV Takeover
Purple have the pleasure of inviting contemporary fashion designers Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, of the burgeoning fashion label Eckhaus Latta, to curate a selection of videos for this months TV Takeover.
We have asked the young duo to be the first fashion designers to select for the TV Takeover because, since their debut in 2012, their collections have stemmed from an urgency to do things differently, an urgency in their words to “start a conversation with the American fashion industry”. Using Eckhaus’ specialty in sculptural forms and Latta’s in textiles they create pieces based on concept rather than trend. Staying true to their belief in materials they indubitably employ repurposed textiles in each of their collections. This focus on sustainability has already begun to shape the fashion industry of the future.
The conversations they lead are not only achieved through their clothes but also through the unconventional presentations on the runway and the films made with their ongoing collaborator Alexa Karolinski all of which can be seen here.
Out of the standard context of a fashion show the pair recontextualize the clothes through means of casting (using their peers and friends as models) and captivating performances. For the S/S 2014 show they telecast the runway from a parking lot outside the discount supermarket chain Aldi in Berlin onto the big screen at Anthology Film Archives New York. For their latest offering Eckhaus Latta enlisted choreographer Elle Erdman to create a dance performance where the models embraced each other on the runway. Named “clump choreography,” it’s the antithesis of the struts and glides normally seen on catwalks. Most notabLe was their S/S 2013 show whereby models walked on treadmills whilst photographing each other and tweeting them to @ECKHAUS_LATTA.
This exciting TV Takeover coincides with the exclusive premiere of their F/W 2014 editorial shot by Brianna Capozzi, to be released on Purple Diary next week in conjuction with their new webshop. Photo Kathy Lo
