DESIGN:Eckhaus Latta-Possessed

Eckhaus Latta have been designing for what they call a “liberated audience” for nearly nine collections now. Eckhaus Latta are the forerunners of a new generation of underground fashion labels in New York creating unique fashion-week experiences. Theirdedication to their ever-evolving practice permeates every project they set to work on, from their unisex designs and experimental fashion shows featuring ‘nodels’ that often border on performance art.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Whitney Museum Archive

As finalists for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, Eckhaus Latta present the exhibition “Eckhaus Latta: Possessed” at Whitney Museum, which is the first fashion-related show at the Museum in 21 years. As Lauri London Freedman, one of the curators, said “Working with Mike and Zoe has challenged us to consider the roles that our museum spaces play and the objects that are presented. They pushed us to ask broader questions such as ‘How can we reexamine the format of an exhibition?’ and ‘What is the best way to exhibit an artist’s work?’” The exhibition is a three-part installation that reflects various aspects of the fashion industry, like advertising and voyeurism. Visitors first see a sequence of photographs intended to comment on the type of images found in fashion ads and magazines. The centerpiece of the installation is an operational retail space, with clothing and accessories designed for the exhibition, this core space is done in collaboration with more than a dozen artists with whom Eckhaus Latta has been in dialogue over the years. They contribute such elements as clothing racks, display shelves, and a dressing room. Among the artists are: Susan Cianciolo, Jeffrey Joyal, Lauren Davis Fisher, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, and Amy Yao. “Eckhaus Latta: Possessed” concludes with a darkened room, evocative of a security office, which features a bank of screens depicting surveillance footage. Visitors will have a voyeuristic view of the rest of the installation, as well as a glimpse into the tracking and surveillance that often accompanies the experience of shopping.

Info: Curators: Christopher Y. Lew and Lauri London Freedman, Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort Street, New York, Duration 3/8-8/10/18, Days & Hours: Mon-Thu & Sun 10:30-18:00, Fri-Sat 10:30-22:00, www.whitney.org