Think Outside the Shop
Eckaus Latta Opens a Pop-Up at the Whitney
In it’s first fashion-centric show since an Andy Warhol exhibition in 1997, the Whitney Museum of American Art presents a pop-up within the museum of the fabulous clothing by designers Zoe Latta and Mike Eckhaus, titled Eckhaus Latta: Possessed. On display until October, the free visual commentary exhibition will leave you with a new viewpoint on the real meaning of fashion.
“We’ve always been interested in grey zones that exist between art and fashion, and for this show, we were interested in the different sensorial experiences that people have with fashion,” Latta recently told Forbes. “We also explored how the fashion industry works in a sort of an overt manner and also in an oblique sense.”
The two artists believe that the fashion industry seduces consumers into buying products and that retailers, designers, and product developers observe our every move while we spend our precious money. However, the bigger question they ask themselves is, what triggers our desire to shop? Therefore, their exhibition, which is really a museum-curated concept shop, is separated into three “zones” to study the consumer’s behaviors and habits.
Zone One is a gallery-type space that features ad imagery. “The first zone is around the advertisement of fashion and the advertorial language of fashion,” says Latta. “It’s about the idea that imagery the fashion industry gives is trying to have you buy something, or want something.”
Zone Two is all about shopping! It is a full-fledged retail store with merchandise from 12 contributing labels, the unique Eckhaus Latta collection, and fitting rooms. Latta and Eckhaus considered this section as the most textured and reasonably priced. This air-inspired pop-up shop is the first time the Whitney has installed a shoppable space in one of its galleries.
Lastly, Zone Three allows the consumers to look back at the past, by viewing security footage of them shopping. This zone was created to shine a light on the idea of being observed as a buyer. Within this area, they also have a series of live feeds, fabricated feeds, and CCTV (close circuit television).
While some consider this another gallery and retail store in the big city of New York, others have left the showcase conflicted. Was this pop-up about retail, art, performance, or fashion? Although, this could be a bothersome question to some, this is precisely what the designers wanted. The two Rhode Island School of Design alum like to keep their shoppers and fans on their toes.
Let’s not forget the Eckhaus Latta’s Spring 2017 Campaign. The racy, erotic, and extremely steamy advertisement (see the image above) brought fashion to new levels by featuring real-life couples engaging in sex. The brand unveiled photographs by Heji Shin of diverse models rocking the Eckhaus Latta’s spring collection topless and pant-less during foreplay and actual sex acts. While most of the photographs are pixelated out, the campaign left the fashion industry speechless.
