On 11th September, Eckhaus Latta showed their Spring Summer 2023 collection in New York’s environmental awareness and educational community garden, El Jardin Del Paraiso, inc. As a public park the goals of El Jardin Del Paraiso are to promote environmental awareness and education while providing a space for recreation and outdoor events. The community-driven label has pledged to donate 20% of all sales from September 9th to 16th during New York Fashion Week to the garden.

The collection was a textured display of rip-off knits, drapey netting, bold prints and statement color-blocking. The runway was scattered with an array of recognizable faces including model-of-the-moment Paloma Elsesser, Sophie Koella, and the Face of Crash 95 Lili Sumner. The printed knits were made in honor of the late artist Matthew Underwood, a dear friend of co-founder and artistic director Zoe Latta, with the permission of his estate.

 Matthew Grinnell Underwood (1983-2019) was an artist from Providence, Rhode island. He was prolific in visual, audio, electronic and performance arts, and freely crossed and blurred the lines across all mediums. He received his BFA in 2004, and MFA in 2018 from Alfred University in Alfred, New York. Matt was a quiet person of inquisitive fascination and deep, tender kindness; he was generous with his time and gifts.

 When he passed away in 2019, hundreds of friends and loved ones donated in his memory, supporting AS220 and the Trevor Project, institutions he cared for greatly. A group of these friends have been working to care for his memory and preserve and share his art. Matt’s work can be seen at mathunderwood.com and monicapanzarino.art/matthew-underwood.

 In celebration of Matt’s life and work, his pieces were featured as a major part of the collection, and the designers have dedicated a donation to the Trevor Project in his name. The Trevor Project is an American Nonprofit organization focusing on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth. Donations from guests present at the show were welcomed and encouraged.

Discover all the looks below.