Come rain or shine, a Rick Owens show always manages to muster up the image of otherwordly, gothic creatures emerging from the aftermath of the apocalypse. Paris’ miserable weather on Thursday afternoon only added to the theatrics, as Owens’ alien-like beings stalked the pool of the Palais de Tokyo pool as fireworks painted the sky in shades of purple, yellow and red.
“With our world conditions under increasing threat, jubilance seems like the wrong note but maybe it’s the only correct moral response?” wrote the designer in his show notes. “Beyond being nice to each other, isn’t personal joy what we are put on earth to do?”
He delivered a masterful procession of “grim, determined elegance”, each garment coloured what he brilliantly dubbed “drama queen, black”. Most looks came anchored by structured, high-waisted trousers – suction tight above the naval, before falling into flares that dragged along the floor. Broad-shouldered suiting, hooded karate jackets and draped leather and silk shiting that wrapped the torsos of models only added to the dystopian glamour of it all. Chuck in horned-shouldered crop tops, distressed leather shorts and leg-brace style, knee-high boots, and you have a wardrobe to weather the storm of day-to-day life (and look pretty darn good doing it).
Photography by Christina Fragkou.
