LOS ANGELES, CA.- The lifestyle brand 69 is the brainchild of an anonymous Los Angeles-based designer whose non-gender and non-demographic-specific clothing exuberantly suggests ideas of freedom, inclusivity, and a more fluid future. Since its founding in 2011, 69 has developed a cult following for its playful and exaggerated designs. With a strong focus on transforming denim, a typically utilitarian everyday fabric, into deeply elegant garments that resist easy categorization, 69 welcomes people of all ages, races, sexualities, and sizes into its community. For 69’s first solo museum exhibition, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, presents 69: Déjà Vu , a survey of the brand’s groundbreaking clothing from 2011 to the new Spring/Summer 2019 collection. The exhibition will also feature a selection of irreverent and inventive videos and photographs that blur the line between promotional material and artwork.

69’s name gives a nod to the titillation of erotic play while referencing the designer’s astrological sign, Cancer. The universality of astrological signs and the particular reversibility of the symbol “♋” make for an apt logo, suitable to designs that are resolutely unfixed in terms of where, how, and by whom they might be worn. Likewise, denim is an omnipresent material—popular around the globe for its durability and comfortable, casual feel. In the language of 69’s garments, oversize is often the right size, and the body may be excessively draped to suggest a faux-modesty that paradoxically highlights the attractiveness of the human form.

69 self-identifies as “non-demographic,” and its promotional campaigns typically feature diverse individuals of all ages, including older models, who are appealing in their undeniable exuberance. To counter the fashion industry’s emphasis on faces, 69 has at times covered models’ heads in their charmingly shaggy Fringe Masks (2015) or Sunblock Hats (2014), leaving only the eyes exposed. Sometimes a flash of skin raises more questions than it answers. Butt Void (2016) and Tit Void (2016) are generously draped garments with removable panels over the eponymous body parts that highlight just how much of the wearer’s body is covered. The Baps Button Up (2016) shirt takes the opposite approach with a panel of flat and loose fabric attached to its front, suggesting the breast as an appendage that can, in the game of getting dressed up, be taken on or off on a whim. The politics of 69’s clothing speak to the radical transformation of our understanding of who we are and how the social constructs of gender, race, class, and age both do and don’t define us.

69: Déjà Vu is organized by Lanka Tattersall, Associate Curator, with Karlyn Olvido, Curatorial Assistant, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.