Rick Owens – Beauty and the Beast
photo-DChen
The Theatre National de Chaillot was the setting…. at the Trocadero you have the most beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from its windows. Right before the start of Rick Owens show, heavy velvet curtains were drawn to erase any trace of the beautiful late afternoon sunlight and Gustave Eiffel’s iron lattice tower. A very good move since sun and the usually dark tone of Rick Owens’ collections don’t usually go together. But this is a good thing. The runway was then softly lit as if to create a dark moonscape or some other dim planet. Out marched a tribe of women… from what land or what planet, for all it matters, was not all that apparent. The music was ominous and the women were powerful. More than powerful. A superior race that was assembled to show off Mr. Owens fall/winter collection that had some of the strongest coats of the season. My photos of the runway show were dismal because of the obscure but well intentioned barely there lighting. The showroom photos below are much more benign but do not capture an iota of the great mood of the runway show.
Above is the quintessential Rick Owens washed leather bomber jacket with the asymmetric zip closure
Three of the hottest coats… the first one is in shearling, note the new wasp waist silhouette of the second and classic washed wool version of the third… always with his trademark second skin fit of the sleeve.
The must haves: washed leather top, alpaca silk knit cardigan and washed wool flannel cuffed cropped pant.
The new color of the season…. of which he can only come up with…. DNA DUST.
The shearling cylindrical handbag and the zigzag pattern tights were very original accessories offered as icing.
All in all, for someone who doesn’t march with the rest, Mr. Owens has come up with yet another
big conquest of a collection.
( all photos: DChen )
PARIS – Rick Owens
American designer, Rick Owens, who makes his atelier and showroom now in Paris on the Place du Palais Bourbon, has become an integral part of the Paris fashion stage. ( I remember buying his collection, when he travelled to New York from LA, in a single room at the Mercer Hotel way back when ) His once dominant goth aesthetic has blossomed this season to bordering on lightness and toeing the line of softness. The master of darkness doesn’t disappoint his disciples completely… his collection began with a look of geometry, asymmetry, straight lines and points. A very strong sleeveless leather jacket with asymmetrical zips and triangular peaks at the shoulders came marching out in black layered over grays. This gave way immediately to black and white combinations that segued into the nude/natural, more beautiful shades of gray and pure whites. His dress and skirt shapes took on a sexier tone. A nude one shoulder top paired with a black slim skirt was stark and exact but in their way…. sexy.
all photos-DChen
Of the 42 looks, there were only 3 pant looks… definite focus on the legs and his new leg wrap sandal. The beautifully constructed duster coats sprinkled though out the lineup were some of the most beautiful pieces of the collection. The absolute most beautiful pieces, however, and I swear I did hear a few intakes of breaths when the exited, were the incredibly lofty cloud-like dresses in silver, bronze and my personal favorite look of the show… in white.
This collection was a great moving forward for Mr. Owens. He was true to his aesthetic but really opened up…. lightened up…. eased up…. and opted to play with the idea of pretty. One of his strongest collections yet.
