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Enfants Riches Deprimes


2012

A Los Angeles and Paris based luxury fashion brand founded by the conceptual artist, Henri Alexander (also known as Henri Alexander Levy).

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.

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.

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."

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.

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