Author: Design & Culture by Ed

Montauk Kids. R13 SS19

| Design & Culture by Ed

I was on fence with Chris Leba’s R13 for a while. Until this season. The designer’s spring-summer 2019 felt different from his previous offerings, as it wasn’t plain recycling of apparel trends and grungy styling. The collection told a story, maybe that’s why. And the story was all about Montauk and Chris’ teenage years there, growing up surfing and spending time around the seaside hotel that his mom owned. Montauk used to be wilder then. And that was perfectly captured in the new collection, that had it all: t-shirts that looked as if somebody wore them to the beach for years; loosely fitted blazers and shirts with the cheesy-chic palm-tree prints; tie-dyed sweatshirts in Rasta colours. You might not be into this aesthetic (like me) but we should all agree that this kind of nostalgic and youthful carefreeness of U.S. beach towns takes Leba on the good track. The spirit is authentic. He feels this.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Clothes That Breathe. Eckhaus Latta SS19

| Design & Culture by Ed

Industrial space in the heart of Brooklyn’s Bushwick. The sound of children’s instrumental performance, played on home-made tambourines and other metalware. One thing’s clear – an Eckhaus Latta show is about to start, which also means a radical leap away from typical, glossy Manhattan presentations. For Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, the runway is like a multi-faceted concept, that doesn’t only focus on clothes. It has to hit the senses, from sounds to visuals, and make you observe, not just stare at another dress. Even the model casting – one of the most diverse throughout the entire fashion month – has a lot to speak about the topics of age, size and skin colour. But don’t get it wrong. The fact that Eckhaus Latta works against the fashion establishment doesn’t mean that the clothes themselves are on the second plan. Somehow, the designers are able to always pull off this artistic edginess, but in a deeply sexual way – I don’t mean the sheer pieces only. Maybe it’s the rawness of those ‘unfinished’ tweed skirts or the oversized creased trousers. Not speaking of the distorted sweaters and the marvellous spider-web dresses made from wool (extraordinary knitwear is becoming Eckhaus Latta’s signature, from season to season). Other than the ‘everyday’ pieces, the designers also offered a few garments that could be easily put next to contemporary artworks in a gallery. The meticulously beaded tops for both women and men had cuts that sharply exposed the body. But Eckhaus Latta’s clothes are not complete without its wearer, that’s why it’s wrong to call them solely ‘art’. It’s the person’s character that make the clothes ‘breathe’ in a way.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

All-Day. Dion Lee SS19

| Design & Culture by Ed

Who: Dion Lee

Where: From Australia to New York

What: Dion Lee’s netting is the designer’s signature and also a frequent evening-wear choice. But the label is more than that: it’s well-known for strong emphasis on construction, tailoring and experimentation. The designer creates a contemporary wardrobe, that’s blurring the boundaries between ‘feminine’ and ‘minimal’.

SS19: The spring-summer 2019 collection from Lee was a like a dissection of an all-day wardrobe. Distorted trench coats and pastel pink tailoring, which were a take on office-, work-, business-wear gradually switched to evening dresses with lace inserts, sensual cut-outs and playful sheerness. The few pieces in shiny blue and bold orange brought energy to the line-up, creating a smooth transition from the ‘day’ to the ‘night’. There were the easily approachable pieces, like biker shorts and pinstripe suiting ensembles. But for the more daring ones, there are the jacket-dress hybrids with zippers that had a beautiful, fluid-like quality (in a way reminding of Azzedine Alaïa’s mastership). What else felt like an absolute highlight? Of course Dion’s netting. This season it was reimagined thinner and lighter on two dresses and was made of 3-D printed latex. The effect? One word: stunning.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.