How J.Crew's nineties catalogues shaped its Eckhaus Latta collaboration

J.Crew and Eckhaus Latta have announced a limited-edition collection, with designers Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta reworking a set of J.Crew staples. It arrives Tuesday at jcrew.com and in selected J.Crew stores, priced between 75 and 650 dollars.

Eckhaus Latta's version of the J.Crew Rollneck sweater, made for the brand's Rollneck Remix project earlier this year, drew enough response to justify a full range. The result covers knitwear, outerwear, shirting, denim, bottoms and accessories, plus a Rollneck cut for children.

Research for the collection started in J.Crew's own catalogue archive. Working through decades of material, the designers took cues from the colour palettes, proportions and signature styles the brand ran through the 1990s. Recognisable pieces — the barn jacket, the Rollneck, a rugby shirt, chinos, a pleated skirt, a twinset and a duffle coat — have been altered through changes to texture, cut and construction.

"The inspiration for us was really J.Crew. It is an iconic American brand with a rich heritage. We rummaged through a lot of its catalogs from the '90s as points of reference. That period was our childhood, so our aesthetics and tastes will always be shaped by it," said Eckhaus and Latta.

Olympia Gayot, creative director of women's and kids at J.Crew, said the aim was to keep what makes the New York label recognisable. "We wanted to preserve the experimentation, individuality and sense of community that make Eckhaus Latta so distinctive, along with the unpretentious New York energy they bring to clothes designed for how people actually live. The catalogs became a major source of inspiration, revealing an era of the brand that already possessed a little downtown tension."

The accompanying campaign was shot by Luna Conte, with motion directed by Brett Milspaw. It is staged as a house party, with a cast drawn from artists, athletes, musicians and academics.

"This collaboration is a celebration of the expansiveness of American style and the many ways it can be interpreted. Great collaborations create new entry points into each brand, and the campaign brings that idea to life through a house party where the J.Crew and Eckhaus Latta communities come together," said Julia Collier, chief marketing officer of J.Crew.