Richard Eichhorn, known professionally as Richie Rich, knows how to party.
A New Yorker and original Club Kid, his first fashion collection in nearly 10 years hit the runway at BKLYN Studios at the City Point BKLYN center in Downtown Brooklyn on Saturday night to a packed house as part of New York Fashion Week.
The runway showcased his seriously fun new line, “Richerette by Richie Rich,” featuring a frenzy of glitter, edgy silhouettes, lots of skin, playful maximalism and roller skates.
Eichhorn told BK Reader the backstage had kinetic energy before the show, which translated to an energized runway complete with models doing splits and blowing kisses. It felt like any moment someone would start voguing on the catwalk.
“It’s like a big slumber party,” Eichhorn said, with a canned sangria in hand.
Eichhorn is an original member of the Club Kids, a group of young, flamboyant tastemaking party-goers from the 80s and 90s who flaunted gloriously experimental outfits, gender fluidity and hedonism. The Club Kids appeared at all the hottest clubs, and their outrageous legacy still influences nightlife and fashion today.
Many Club Kids have gone on to prominent careers as performers, artists and personalities like Amanda Lepore, Walt Cassidy and even RuPaul of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Richie Rich’s first line, “Heatherette,” was worn by stars including Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Pamela Anderson, Naomi Campbell, Ellen DeGeneres and Amanda Lepore.
When asked how to describe the show’s influences, Eichhorn said the catwalk had three acts, like a theater performance.
“It’s Stevie Nicks meets a Club Kid and turns into a disco star,” Eichhorn said.
“There is such an energy in Brooklyn,” Eichhorn said emphatically. Though the original Club Kids were Manhattan-based, today’s iteration of the scene is undoubtedly in Brooklyn, which is why Eichhorn hosted the fashion show here.
“Manhattan gets bougie, but here it is so artsy,” Eichhorn said.
So far, everything in the collection is one-of-a-kind. Some of the clothes appeared handpainted or acid-washed for a corroded look.
Skechers provided the sneakers and roller skates for the show, and some of the models wore different-colored sneakers on each foot.
The night also featured a collection by up-and-coming streetwear designer Jalen Durham and his brand, “Real is Rare.”
The collection was a colorful, casual line of denim and loungewear featuring smiley faces and thought-provoking proclamations of what it means to be authentic in the fashion world.
After the event, one guest said the show offered a fresh display of different styles and subcultures.
“I really liked the diversity of the show, the colors, the patterns, all the different shoe changes, the pops of color — it was really good,” Ryan Brooks, a creative director and stylist, said.
All photos by Miranda Levingston for BK Reader.
