Eli Russell Linnetz’s Creative Obsession Born from Expression

Eli Russell Linnetz is an American artist, designer, writer, and director, born in Venice Beach, California. His work has previously been featured twice at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute (with one piece later joining the Museum’s permanent collection), Galerie Crone in Vienna (alongside Sterling Ruby), and Blum & Poe in Los Angeles.

A veteran child voice artist on numerous Disney Animation Studios productions and former assistant to Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and screenwriter David Mamet, Linnetz went on to graduate from the USC School of Cinematic Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in screenwriting and narrative design, where he produced his thesis film, ‘Afterglow’ starring Sawyer Spielberg. It was also at USC where he learned to sew, creating costumes for the opera department in order to pay for his tuition. After graduating, he shifted his focus to creative direction and photography, working with the industry’s top musical artists.

Linnetz is a frequent collaborator with brands such as Apple, adidas, Burberry, The Boring Company, Bvlgari, Comme des Garçons, Fendi Couture, Gucci, Nike, Salomon, and Tesla. He has photographed covers for Vogue Italia with Justin and Hailey Bieber, Interview Magazine with Selena Gomez, GQ, and Hypebeast, to name a few. He has also been nominated for Best Director at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Linnetz has received multiple international awards for his designs, including GQ’s Breakthrough Designer of the Year in 2021 and LVMH’s Karl Lagerfeld Prize in 2022.

He recently sat down with LBB to discuss the origins of his clothing brand ERL and his creation being worn by A$AP Rocky at the Met Gala…

LBB> What is your niche craft obsession?

Eli> Reconstructing American nostalgia and futurism through clothing – and then giving it to the whole world.

ERL has always been about creating garments or imagery that feel like recovered memories. I treat craft like archaeology. I’m digging through the subconscious of my experiences and I’m stitching them back together.

This is where my obsession with quilting and patchwork came from – creating something new from the found memories – either at a flea market, or even the side of the road.

LBB> Where/when/how did you first come across this thing?

Eli> It probably started with photography. Before creating ERL, it was just me behind the camera trying to capture a feeling – so little by little clothing became a form of sculpture as I pieced found objects together and started creating characters from the fabrics and materials. Then it expanded. I approach everything like a composer – searching for the notes as I patchwork everything together. ERL became my way of freezing personal and collective memory inside material objects. It was an escape for me as I searched for my own story after years of creating other people’s stories.

LBB> Was it an obsession straight away or something that evolved over the years?

Eli> Right away. But the scale and nature of it evolved. At first, I was just trying to make one thing – an image, a sweater, a shoe – not even knowing what I was trying to say – just pure expression. Soon characters and stories emerged as I would layer and patchwork objects together. Now every collection, every campaign, every image I share with the world is part of the larger ERL story I’m telling.

LBB> What are the most interesting debates or conversations you are having around this obsession?

Eli> The most interesting question is taking something so personal and intimate and then scaling that to be made in a factory. And what I’ve discovered is, some things can’t be. Some things are too precious and too special to be produced in that manner. So determining which pieces belong in a store, which pieces belong in a gallery, and which pieces belong to everyone, is a constant debate.

LBB> How widespread do you think this obsession is with your peers?

Eli> A lot of people are obsessed with similar things – creating something meaningful from nothing – like magic. But I do think there’s a different level of authorship few have been able to capture. Perhaps Karl Lagerfeld or Hedi Slimane who have also done their own casting and taken their own photographs. It's an approach that comes with a heavy burden – but also it’s more rewarding I find. That’s what makes it exciting – and lonely.

LBB> Can you share any examples of work where that obsession really came to the fore and elevated the final production?

Eli> The ERL x Dior collection was a turning point and learning from Kim Jones was an indescribable experience – the amount of focus it requires to create the illusion of chaos. Quilted tuxedos. Puffed satin armoury. It felt like Versailles in Venice Beach. That collection took American emotion and gave it French formality that I admire.

One of my favourite pieces from the collection, which was referencing the patchwork quilt I made for A$AP Rocky at the Met Gala, was another patchwork quilt, but this time it was couture. Seeing a team of couturiers implement a wild vision was transcendent and a moment I’ll never forget.

LBB> For anyone just getting into your field, what advice would you share to help them get their head around this particular thing?

Eli> Create something only you could create.