Designer duo Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta celebrated their brand's 10 year anniversary with a star-studded runway show at the Standard Hotel on Saturday night during New York Fashion Week. Coming off an emotional night celebrating the artistic evolution of Eckhaus Latta the pair spoke about their personal and professional journeys at New York Fashion Week: The Talks this evening during "10 Years of Eckhaus Latta" the panel. The unlikely pair from RISD started off by recounting their days as a budding team during their final year at art school. "We both had mutual friends and knew of each other but we didn't plan on meeting or being friends." they said.
While Mike had studied Sculpture and Fine Arts, Zoe studied textiles but neither imagined they would be working in fashion only a short time later. After graduating, they both decided to move to New York City together where they hoped to pursue careers in fine arts as creators. They recounted that while living in the city they both got jobs working in fields related to their degree but quickly realized that pursuing a life as a fine arts creator would be incredibly lonely which eventually led them to exploring the close knit world of fashion.
Zoe told the story of how they decided to start the brand one day after working for weeks to enter a fashion competition before the submission deadline. The two had worked day and night non-stop to create a collection for a fashion competition they had heard about last minute. Zoe remembered them running to the post office to mail the entry and being so tired they couldn't read the customs forms. After finally submitting their work they waited to hear back but never did. So instead, on a whim they decided to go ahead with the collection on their own.
Mike recalled the early days of starting the brand saying, "There was a very steep learning curve. We made a lot of pieces that weren't functional garments." However, they both agreed that taking a non-traditional route into fashion design helped contribute to their success saying, "If we had taken a more traditional path I don't know if we would have lasted in a big designer house." According to the designers, being young and excited to learn and try new things helped contribute to their success. "The brand really started out as an exploration of how to make clothing" said Mike.
While working on the brand they realized that it could serve as a platform to make art surrounded by people and in collaboration with friends and colleagues. They fell in love with the community of fashion and knew that this was where they wanted to be. Their love for the process of creating with others really showed through during this panel. It was so inspiring to hear about their journey and really spoke to the positive side of the fashion community. While fashion has often been portrayed as an exclusive club and there is certainly truth to that in some areas of the industry, this conversation showed what fashion can really be when creators combine skillsets to bring designs to life in the store and on the runway. The collaborative nature of the industry is a truly unique experience.
After finding some success with their brand, the pair was eventually asked to create an exhibition for the Whitney museum which both designers described as a highlight of their career thus far. They said, "As art school nerds we loved the opportunity to work on this project." The theme of community came up again as the designers recalled that besides getting to work on a real-life art exhibit, this was a favorite project because "It was probably the most collaborative project we've ever done and we got to work with so many of our friends." The exhibition explored art and fashion and asked questions about where they intersect. Over the years the Eckhaus Latta brand has certainly shown that fashion can be a wearable art form so they were well equipped for the task.
When asked what advice they would give to young creatives the theme of collaboration came up again. Zoe said, "Everybody needs help in one way or another in this industry. You have to be willing to ask for help and reciprocate."
Mike also addressed collaboration saying, "You have to trust your intuition. Sometimes a project will just feel right and other times it may not. You have to be ok with taking risks and trust your instincts."
Reflecting on the past can often lead us to wonder about the future. When it comes to looking towards the next 10 years and beyond the pair told the audience they are taking things day by day. Zoe said, "Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary, and now today it's back to work."
Mike added that for him the future is about creating new challenges for himself as a creator and pushing himself. As for any concrete future plans, the pair left the audience with an insightful piece of wisdom saying, "We'd rather be a slow burn than a flash in the pan. For better or worse. Worse is that sometimes things are very slow But today we're here."
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