search
Glossy Logo
Glossy Logo
Subscribe Login
  • Glossy+ Member Subscribe Now
  • Glossy+ homepage
  • My account
  • FAQ
  • Newsletters
  • Log out
  • Beauty
  • Fashion
  • Glossy+
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Awards
  • Pop
search
Glossy Logo
Subscribe Login
  • Glossy+ Member Subscribe Now
  • Glossy+ homepage
  • My account
  • FAQ
  • Newsletters
  • Log out
  • Beauty
  • Fashion
  • Pop
  • Glossy+
  • Events
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletters
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • instagram
  • email
  • email
The New Luxury

Eckhaus Latta’s first New York store is the anti-flagship

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
By Jill Manoff
Nov 27, 2018

Head to New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood, enter the New York Mart mall under the Manhattan Bridge, skim past the first-floor stores stacked high with plastic-wrapped clothing and a mishmash of shoes, and go up the stairs to the somewhat sparse space buzzing with the sound of passing subways. You’ve reached Eckhaus Latta’s first NYC store.

Considering the New York Fashion Week playbook of the brand, the off the beaten path, unexpected store location (by fashion industry standards, anyway), opened on Tuesday, is to be expected.

Founders Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta have become notorious for hosting shows deep into Brooklyn, a trek from official, Manhattan-based NYFW venues. In September, for example, attendees were required to walk over a set of train tracks and through an operating industrial workspace before reaching the space. However, like in prior seasons, the show’s seats were full, with a who’s who of fashion editors among spectators.

When Eckhaus Latta builds it, the fashion flock tends to come, minimal prompting required. The brand is betting on the fact that the phenomenon will translate to the retail setting.

As with the brand’s shows, the no-frills store is intended for one practical purpose: to be a stage for the designers’ seasonal vision and a reference point for their customers.

“We just wanted to have a public space where people can come and try on our jeans, and get the full size run, or just check out the full scope of the collection,” said Latta. “We wanted to offer a more in-depth experience of our products, independent of what our retailers are doing.”

That the store was designed without Instagram in mind is clear, considering its bare white walls, bare floors and metal pipes serving as clothing racks. “We want the focus to be on the garments and not this funny thing you can take a picture in front of,” said Eckhaus.

Latta said the brand isn’t big on marketing initiatives, so simply announced the opening of the store to current customers and social media followers across channels.

The designers launched their brand, which quickly emerged as an industry darling, in 2011. It’s reportedly been profitable for two years, doubling sales from 2016 to 2017. It is now sold through popular fashion retailers including Nordstrom, Net-a-Porter and MatchesFashion, with owned channels accounting for 35 percent of sales. Styles include jeans for $290 and hoodies for $325.

In 2016, Eckhaus and Latta turned a portion of their L.A. studio into a store, and in the last year, they tested the NYC market — their biggest, in terms of sales — through various pop-ups. In August, they kicked off a two-week exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where they sold an exclusive collection, and in December, they set up shop for one week in New York Mart, on the same floor as the new store. Though there are no immediate plans to open a third store, Latta said a Tokyo store would be next in line.   

Eckhaus and Latta’s plans for the New York store include hosting events for customers and selling exclusives, as well as offering a rotating selection of pieces by emerging designers. At opening, racks included styles by Sophie Andes Gascon.

“We want it to be an experience, and include all of our neighbors and the community in that experience,” said Latta. “But it’s not going to be fireworks going off, celebrities coming in, this big blowout flagship store on Wooster Street with $50,000 rent. The risk isn’t as extreme, considering this dying retail landscape, and this is more our style.”

Photo by Thomas McCarty 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
Related reads
  • Fashion
    All the ways conflict between the US and Iran could affect the fashion industry
  • Fashion
    Anthropologie’s ‘Tobie’ dress is the unexpected style of the summer
  • The Culture Effect
    Why authors are fashion’s next top models
Latest Stories
  • Fashion
    All the ways conflict between the US and Iran could affect the fashion industry
  • Member Exclusive
    Beauty & Wellness Briefing: The beauty supplement market is expanding as the beauty and wellness categories continue to merge
  • Beauty
    From Guava to Sardine Girl Summer: Why beauty can’t stop serving up foodie trends
logo

Get news and analysis about fashion, beauty and culture delivered to your inbox every morning.

Reach Out
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • Threads
  • Email
About Us
  • About Us
  • Masthead
  • Advertise with us
  • Digiday Media
  • Custom
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
©2025 Digiday Media. All rights reserved.