Eckhaus Latta Is One Of My Favourite Collections This Season

It’s been a while since I have reviewed a show from NYFW, but here we are. It’s been a long time since fashion week came and went. I am unsure why I wanted to review the show, but I am excited to share my thoughts. Whilst studying the Eckhaus Latta collection, I tried a different method of recollecting my thoughts. This new method is quite raw but honest. First, I admit to never having seen or reviewed an Eckhaus Latta fashion show. However, there were some key standouts, and as a writer, I am familiar with analysing a collection.

These days, I am looking for a show. Victoria’s Secret is why many contemporary fashion collections are shown on larger-than-life scales. It’s an event, not just a place where you sit and watch people walk for 15 minutes. Whilst Eckhaus Latta is not the biggest designer, I liked the effort they put into their collection design. It does remind me a little of a previous Louis Vuitton Men’s show that Virgil designed (FW 2019), but that is by the by. It was cool to see them adapt to this progressive change in high fashion and their spin on the environment.

The collection

Firstly, I am glad that the collection was short. I often feel individuals choose to keep up with the masses for popularity reasons rather than staying true to themselves. If you don’t have any more ideas, you don’t need to force it. A succinct collection is all consumers need, and that is what we got from Eckhaus Latta.

The first look was a male model. This is interesting because women spend more money on clothes, so when producing a fashion show, it is more common sense rather than following fashion to have a female model open the show. Something else that caught my eye, which is becoming less of a spectacle for me, is seeing the opening male model in a sheer dress. I am surprised by this look because the rarity of a male model opening up a mixed-gendered show in a dress is scarce. Already, the senses are dulled and I am forced to think about what that means to me personally. But also what message the designer wants to convey.

The next few looks were uneventful in terms of the material used and the garments. I found the knitwear and the knitwear throughout the show easily re-produced for the high street. Of course, fast fashion rips off the runway all of the time, but when it’s done well, you can tell which fashion show provided inspiration. The knitwear on the runway looked inspired by what’s on the high street. The messaging there is backwards and something that I found peculiar, to say the least.

The show

Next, I must mention something I never thought I would say. That is, the show’s best walk and the show’s best look were worn by men! Since when has this ever happened? As someone who frequents the men’s department, I don’t feel weird about this, but it is bizarre. When have men ever had better looks on the runway? Never. But as most ready-to-wear looks tend to seep onto red carpets, I hope this does, too. Men need to be freed from the shackles of the basic black suit and tie. Mix it up a little, boys!

On a positive note, the model line-up of the show appeared to be inclusive. Models of different ages, heights and races paradigm on the runway, which is great. More of this, please!

The shoes in this collection were a winner for me, too. Take the shoes worn by top model Paloma Elsesser, for example. I don’t know if I would recommend them in the colder seasons because … well, it’s cold. But they could be chic for the warmer months. Those shoes could be an item to watch. See how you feel about them in the fall, and if you don’t like them, wait for them to go on sale and rock them in the spring-summer months.

Final Thoughts on Eckhaus Latta

To conclude my thoughts, I do have something funny to say. Have you seen the Blade 2 film starring Wesley Snipes? If not, go and watch it and pay close attention to the underground club scene. This entire collection would look great on any actor or background extra in that scene. Right?! A lot of the fabric is ripped or sheer and quite basic. Perfect for a dark room with loud EDSM music and everyone else jamming out. These outfits would be great for grunge, underground, rock, and escapist worlds.

My final note is the designer’s walk. I have spoken about this once before for the Yves Saint Laurent FW22 show, and my point is this. I love that both designers walk in their show as a lap of honour. People come to these shows because they want to support you and see you and smile on your face at your achievement. I hope this trend of designers saying hello or being visible to everyone at the show continues.