Enfants Riches Déprimés

Enfants Riches Déprimés (also known as ERD) is a Los Angeles and Paris based luxury fashion brand founded by the conceptual artist, Henri Alexander (also known as Henri Alexander Levy).

History
ERD was founded in late 2012 by Henri Alexander as an Avant-garde fashion collective, in an effort to create a French punk streetwear line based on the movements of the late 1970s and Japanese Avant-garde movements of the 1980s.

Alexander was educated at the prestigious Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland, as well as various other boarding schools. Based on interviews with Alexander, his experiences at these boarding schools had a lasting impact on his psyche and artistic perspective. He subsequently attended UCLA's art program in Los Angeles, wherein he further developed his concentration in conceptual art. In this program, he was mentored by prominent artists, including Rodney McMillian, Barbara Kruger, and Andrea Fraser.

Relying heavily on concepts of deconstruction and "DIY," ERD has sought to revolt against the luxurious fashion world with garments of oversized proportions—juxtaposing tailored wear with brutally ripped garments. With vintage-inspired T-shirts, leather jackets and tattered oversized sweaters, the line depicts a dichotomy between couture and street life.

One of the core precepts of the brand is high price points, with T-shirts ranging from $300 to $1,000, and haute couture jackets priced as high as $95,000. ERD consistently utilizes the business model of artificial scarcity. In this regard, all styles are sold on an extremely exclusive basis, and thus in relatively small quantities. "The price point is not only a marker of value, but intrinsically part of the piece itself," Alexander remarked in a 2015 interview with The Guardian. He further noted that, "No pieces are alike and everything is limited. I have no interest in making affordable pieces for the masses."

Consistent with this perspective, the artist further noted in a 2016 interview with Complex Magazine that, "The best way for me to explain the brand is elitist, nihilist couture…The price point eliminates the masses, and the ideas eliminate the people who I don't want, generally, in it, due to the dark nature."

The originality of ERD's designs has also resulted in other brands appropriating similar designs and styles, most notably Gucci, Balmain and Vetements. ERD has made a point to be extremely particular with respect to accepting new stockists. Enfants reportedly informed stores in 2017 that if there is any evidence of carrying brands that copy ERD or feature "mid-level contemporary bullshit," the brand will categorically prohibit those stores from carrying the brand.

Enfants Riches Déprimés began with just a small handful of stockists in 2012. From 2013 to 2014, the label quietly garnered a cult-like following amongst celebrities, including Jared Leto, Kanye West, Pusha T, Beyoncé, G Dragon, Sky Ferreira, Courtney Love, Frances Bean Cobain, Justin Bieber, Guns N' Roses, and Zayn Malik.

From 2015 to 2017, Enfants Riches Déprimés has experienced significant business growth, notably with its garments being stocked by Barneys New York, Maxfield, SSENSE, Selfridges, 10 Corso Como, Luisa Via Roma, and Trois Pommes. The brand has also earned considerable artistic acclaim in the fashion world with Alexander's trailblazing and particularly confrontational and provocative designs. These garments have catapulted the brand to an unprecedented level.

Enfants Riches Déprimés unveiled its SS18 pre-collection at Christie's Paris in June 2017, the first time in which a fashion house has shown at the historic auction house, founded in 1766.

The brand's official press release stated that, "the location serves as an adequate setting for a definitive moment of Enfants Riches Déprimés, in which Henri Alexander's concepts are displayed without compromise nor restraint." The runway traveled through the various Matignons of Christie's, wherein each room was curated with Henri Alexander's paintings—a series of massive valet tickets and psychological process diagrams, which sought to emblematize, "violent and naïve gestures." Attendees cogitated on Alexander's array of chaotic scribbles juxtaposed on his fine tailoring, as the paintings—which were on display at Christie's for days prior to the show—filled the pacing on the runway.

Textures of silver chains and reconfigured 18th century antique brooches complimented SS18's suiting and ready-to-wear—thereby acting as a form of functional assemblage. The structure of the show, "[lured] patrons into relapses of Neoclassicism and outbreaks of savagery." The press release further noted that, "a story is told—a final dichotomy—with lonely silhouettes of a boy and chain—beautifully knit in collaboration with Loro Piana—peeking out between looks of spring pastels and shades of black, similar to a de Kooning."

Henri Alexander's paintings, garments, references, and setting created a prolific collage of regression, coupling luxury with the fine art function. Alexander stated in an interview with Vanity Fair that his SS18 pre-collection allegorized, "the tragic only child of capitalist realism, neo-Dadaism and the refined unconscious mind."

Influences
Enfants has taken inspiration from a variety of historical sources. In an interview with V Magazine, Henri Alexander commented that "As far as other painters I am really into Robert Motherwell. I'm envious of the scale of his work.  Also, [the work of ] Cy Twombly, Antoni Tàpies and Jean Dubuffet…I find particularly appealing at this point in my life. I think those that are familiar with Tàpies' work, will see he has influenced ERD from the informality to the way he uses furniture and rags." The artist has also noted being influenced by Japanese fashion designers Rei Kawakubo And Yohji Yamamoto, artist Raymond Pettibon, and punk rockers Darby Crash and Johnny Thunders. With respect to socio-political stimuli, Alexander asserted that, "The line is essentially a result of my conflict between punk influences and my entitled (wealthy bourgeoisie) upbringing and my views on it. While it could be argued that there is a sort of glorification of what I know, there is also a strong correlation to Romanticism in that the revolt against aristocratic social and political norms is very present in the line in various ways."

Collaborations
Enfants Riches Déprimés has engaged in a number of collaborations over the years. In 2012, the brand did a limited T-shirt release with Young & Starving, a New York nonprofit organization that works to support budding artists and curators. In 2015, the brand collaborated with Vans to create a custom classic high-top sneaker, featuring hand-drawings and "rebellious scribbling". For their Fall Winter 2016 collection, ERD collaborated with the estate of Cy Twombly to create a capsule collection featuring interpretations of the late artist's polaroid works.

ERD has also had a continuing relationship with the contemporary artist and architect, Didier Faustino. His sculpture was notably featured as the centerpiece of their Paris runway show in September 2016, which premiered the brand's Spring Summer 2017 main collection.

In early 2017, Enfants Riches Déprimés collaborated with Daft Punk for their exclusive pop-up store at Maxfield in Los Angeles. For this project, Enfants reimagined how Daft Punk's merchandise would have looked during the band's nascent stages—both in terms of aesthetic and form. The styles sought to pay homage to a bygone era of music, reflecting those raw motifs by juxtaposing photographs of the notoriously hermetic musicians onto the front of vintage-style band T-shirts and onto the back of leather couture jackets, emblazoned with "Daftendirekt", the title of the first track on the duo's debut album, Homework. Other styles sought to celebrate Daft Punk's legendary production techniques, depicting the duo toying with their vintage synthesizers and drum machines, with the phrase "La Nouvelle Vague" plastered across the front. The classic ERD label was also altered to the pseudonym, "Electronic Research Development."

In late 2016, Henri Alexander was introduced to Kanye West. Directly following his release from the hospital after being admitted for psychological evaluation, West was photographed in December 2016 visiting ERD's Los Angeles studio. There have reportedly been rumors circulating that Alexander and West are working on a collaboration for 2017.

In July 2017, Enfants Riches Déprimés launched a pop-up store at Maxfield, transforming the sprawling space into a pawn shop. The shop featured a capsule collection of archival pieces, as well as a number of new limited edition styles. Notably, the brand premiered its newest high-top sneaker collaboration with Vans, and an exclusive sunglasses collaboration with the Parisian eyewear designer, Thierry Lasry.

Controversies
There have been a multitude of controversies surrounding the brand and its designs. The brand has prided itself on extreme provocation, featuring Nazi insignia and obscene pornographic images. For instance, the brand created a T-shirt featuring Donald Duck emblazoned with a swastika giving a Nazi salute. They also created another shirt depicting Mickey Mouse, adorned with a swastika, engaging in aggressive sexual intercourse with a battered Minnie Mouse.

In 2014, the brand experienced a controversy surrounding the actress Ashley Benson. In the days following actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's drug overdose and death, the actress tweeted an anti-drug warning to her Twitter fans. On the same day, she was photographed wearing ERD's DJ Heroin T-shirt. This image sparked considerable backlash against her for the audaciously contradictory and distasteful move.

Moreover, Enfants has gained infamy through the creation of controversial accessories, including but not limited to narcotic spoons and hangman's nooses. Commenting on the noose, Alexander stated that, "I make pieces for myself, not for other people, not for the consumer…If you were going to kill yourself, wouldn't you want to do it with a $7,000 cashmere noose?"