Eckhaus Latta

Dance! Eckhaus Latta SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

At MoMA, I watched a group of dancers rehearsing their performance. It was insanely beautiful just to watch them move: so confident in their bodies, full of grace and passion. They were dressed minimally, as dancers tend to be, but in a way that felt almost naked and completely liberating. I thought to myself: this is so Eckhaus Latta.

So when Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta presented their spring-summer 2027 collection, I just knew those MoMA dancers would look sublime in these clothes. Like no one else in New York, the designers make unfussy garments that are intelligent, perfectly made, and deeply body-loving. You simply can’t look unflattering in an Eckhaus Latta dress or knitted top.

Their new-season dresses– with an emphasis on never-vulgar sheerness and cloudlike, weightless shifts – made you want to dance, as did a stunningly simple white peplum top. A white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans? Revolutionary, actually. All I want to wear this month.

The brand has just wrapped up a successful Mango collaboration, which impressed with its quality; now, they’re premiering their J.Crew collection, all about dissecting the codes of preppiness, the Eckhaus Latta way. Oversaturation? Not really. Both collaborations make tremendous sense and seem to declare one thing: people want Eckhaus Latta.

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Embracing Awkwardness. Eckhaus Latta AW26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta effortlessly achieve what many contemporary New York designers desperately pursue: a gritty coolness that isn’t merely a vague nod to the ’90s. It’s not the polished vision of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy filtered through Ryan Murphy; it’s what CBK might actually wear.

A high-necked black fur jacket paired with a sleek black pencil skirt; satin slip dresses and tops so airy they resemble barely-there mist; stretch jerseys constructed with subtle cutouts at the hip bones. Sexy, but not obvious. Eckhaus Latta grows more mature and refined with each season, yet, as one of the designers noted, the “pressure to make good, fancy rich-people clothes” has never been the point.

Instead, it’s about embracing an awkwardness that isn’t a pose or a performance, but a safe space – an undeniably chic one. And their tradition of casting real people only makes it all the more convincing.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Tension. Eckhaus latta SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Finally, a collection in New York that had a sense of tension – a spark! There was something undeniably sexy and smoky about Eckhaus Latta’s spring outing. I’ve always said that Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta would be the perfect fit for a truly successful Helmut Lang revival. They just have it in them. The collection’s second look – a black suit with a slashed belt worn by Cole Mohr – was electric in its simplicity and sensual regality. Likewise, the sleeveless black dress with a sheer skirt evoked the Yohji Yamamoto number Carolyn Bessette Kennedy adored. In fact, looking at this collection, I found myself thinking about Carolyn and John F. Kennedy Jr. – their style (a topic that will never cease to fascinate Substackers) and their passionate (and at times tumultuous) relationship. Yet alongside this unexpected elegance, the collection also embraced a more raw, straightforward take on New York sexiness, such as the abs-exposing t-shirts. Even in their most mature collection to date, Mike and Zoe never shy away from a mischievous twist.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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NET-A-PORTER Limited

This Is Real. Eckhaus Latta AW25

| Design & Culture by Ed

Finally, cool, honest, not-overworked and real clothes in New York. Eckhaus Latta delivers a collection of brilliant garments that feel lived-in – and you want to live in. Thick knits, sensual jerseys, rough leathers, flesh-revealing cuts. Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta acutely observe how their friends dress on the daily basis, and this collection sums up their notes. Obsessed with the Steven Meisel-ish headbands for the guys.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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NET-A-PORTER Limited

Real, Raw, Sexy. Eckhaus Latta SS25

| Design & Culture by Ed

I’ve said it before, I will say it again: the Eckhaus Latta duo have and bring what Helmut Lang had and brought to New York at the turn of millennium. Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta‘s clothes are sexy without trying too hard; they have a sense of style that’s real; and they have that raw honesty about them. Their spring-summer 2025 collection is so far one of the biggest highlights of New York Fashion Week – and has actual clothes one wants to wear (I do!). Eckhaus Latta is a go-to brand for not-so-average knits, and they remained a standout in the latest offering. There’s also the element of playfulness about the labels’ pieces. They invite you to wear them whatever way you want. “I think both of us are very drawn to that sample sale vibe of, ‘there’s something that looks like a pile of rope on a hanger,’” Latta explains. “We’re like, ‘What is it?’ Obviously we have to deal with the idea of hanger appeal, but I think for us, letting these things have a kind of mutability and playfulness, like the scrunches in all these different ways, feels inherent to our curiosity.” Another big thumbs-up goes to the lookbook imagery where you really see how the clothes work on (and with) the body. Of course, there was a fashion show – or rather, a fashion happening – where friends of Eckhaus Latta had dinner and later did an impromptu runway parade. It looked genuinely fun. This brand seems to be one of the few in New York that knows what’s up.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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