Rick Owens

Richard Saturnino Owens(born November 18, 1961) is an Americanfashion designerfromPorterville, California.In addition to his main line, Owens has a furniture line and a number ofdiffusion lines.

Rick Owens
Owens in 2018
Born	Richard Saturnino Owens (1961-11-18)November 18, 1961 Porterville, California,U.S.
Education	Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles Trade-Technical College
Labels	Rick Owens DRKSHDW Rick Owens Lilies Slab Rick Owens Hun/HUNRICKOWENS
Spouse	Michèle Lamy ​ (m.2006)​

Early life and education

Richard Saturnino Owens was raised inPorterville, California.His parents are John (d. 2015)and Concepción "Connie" Owens. His mother is Mexican.Owens was raised in a conservative, Catholic household.After graduatinghigh school,he moved to Los Angeles, California to study art atOtis College of Art and Designfor two years before takingpattern-making and draping courses atLos Angeles Trade-Technical College.This led to work in the garment industry, designingcopiesof designer clothing.Owens then metMichèle Lamy,who at this time was well-known in the Los Angeles social scene and owned the "Lamy" sportswear brand.

Career

Owens launched his fashion line in 1994, operating out of a store inHollywood Boulevard.One of the first boutiques to carry his clothes was Charles Gallay, who was known for carrying avant-garde designers. He gained notability after Kate Moss was photographed byCorrine DayforVogue Parisin one of his signature leather jackets. This attention lead toVogue Americasponsoring his first runway, which he titled "Sparrows FW02".

He moved toParisin 2003 with his partnerMichèle Lamy,a decision that was partially motivated by being mugged in Los Angeles.He set up his home and atelier inside a historic five-story building that previously served as offices for former French PresidentFrançois Mitterrand.His runway collections have been mounted in Paris since then. In 2004, Owens and Michèle Lamy established their own fashion company Owenscorp, and described their business partnership as “asking a gypsy to organise a war with a fascist.”

In 2013, Owens exhibited his 'Prehistoric' collection at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London.Owens' design colour palette in this seven piece collection stretches from white to black, stopping nowhere in between."The show is entitled 'Prehistoric' – a name that reflects its inspiration, the origins of humanity, it recalls a mysterious ancient civilization. Its aura is one of spiritual ritual, archaic ceremony and supreme power".

A recipient of the 2002Perry EllisAward for emerging talent and the Lifetime Achievement Award by theCouncil of Fashion Designers of America(CFDA) in 2017,Owens was also awarded theCooper-HewittDesign Award for fashion design,as well as the Fashion Group International Rule Breaker Award in 2007. His first museum exhibition and retrospective, chronicling over 20 years of his life's work, entitled, "Subhuman Inhuman Superhuman" opened at theTriennale di Milanoon December 15, 2017.In June 2019, Owens won Menswear Designer of the Year Award at the 2019Council of Fashion Designers of America(CFDA) Fashion Awards.

Owens has authored four books —L'ai-je bien descendu?(2007),Rick Owens(2011),More Rick Owens(2023),andRick Owens Furniture(2017),along with two books aboutLarry LeGaspi,which were published in November 2019 byRizzoli.

He had launched five labels includingRICK OWENS,DRKSHDW,RICKOWENSLILIES,SLAB,andHUNRICKOWENS (previously"Palais Royal ").SLAB was a diffusion line that consisted of basic garments with unique finishings such as distressing, oil washing, and waxed coatings. This line was later replaced by his DRKSHDW line in 2005, which would continue the focus on basic garments withcellulosefabrics.

In 2018 and 2019, he has collaborated withBirkenstockand French sneaker brandVeja,respectively. The latter collaboration continued for five seasons, with its conclusion announced in November 2021.Owens added to this series of partnerships in 2020, designing capsule collections in collaboration withMonclerand American activewear brandChampion.In 2021, Owens would collaborate with footwear brandsDr. MartensandConverse.In a 2017 interview withWWD,the brand was reported to have brought in $120 million the previous year. Owens noted in the same interview that his label planned to remain independent from corporate investment.

In 2019, Owens dedicated his fashion show "Larry FW19" to Larry LeGaspi, the man he considers his creative forefather. He introduced LeGaspi in his fall and winter 2019 women's runway collection, "For me, as a teenager growing up in Porterville, California, what Larry LeGaspi did was a huge thing—the way he infiltrated middle America with this subversive sensibility [...] [h]e connects with soul culture—black soul culture and music [...] [a]ll of this stuff coming together was very important to this kid in Porterville." And, "I do think of Larry’s as a kind of biblical story... about the glory of lust and vice, something I talk about a lot, but also about dissipation and decline—which I also talk about a lot... When I was 15, I wanted to be dissipated. And now I am, a little bit. But there is also responsibility."In November 2019, Owens returned to Los Angeles for the first time in 16 years to introduce the books.

Personal life

Owens is bisexual.Owens married the French designerMichèle Lamyin 2006.

Notable collections

Rick Owens typically produces a menswear and womenswear collection each season. These collections often share the same title and theme.

MONSTERS SS98

His Spring/Summer 1998 collection marks his first recorded fashion collection. This collection utilized his signature draping andbias cutpatterning he was noted for. Owens used materials such as silks, leathers, and furs for his garments. Imagery for the collection featured American drag queenThe Goddess Bunny,who also worked for Owens as a fit model in his studio. This collection is notable for includingtransgendermodels andsex workersin the documentation of the collection.

SPARROWS FW02

His Fall/Winter collection entitled "Sparrows FW02" was his debut runway show atNew York Fashion Week.This show was sponsored byVoguemagazine. He was originally slated to show his previous "Vapor SS02" collection, but due to the terrorist attacks ofSeptember 11,it had to be delayed.This collection exhibited his draped and tailored designs that he gained popularity for in theHollywood Boulevardin a muted color palette. It was a minimalistic presentation, contrasting his later shows that would feature extravagant set-pieces and performances.

DUSTULATOR FW06

Owens presented his Fall/Winter 2006 collection atPitti UomoinFlorencewith three segments. The first,DUSTULATOR,was a menswear runway collection. The collection was inspired by military and post-apocolytic aesthetics with exaggerated and oversized treatments.The greyscale color palette was complimented with diluted, cool-toned knitwear. The collection was notable for debuting a fully-realized version of hisathletic-inspired sneakerpreviously seen in his "Moog FW05" collection. The second part of his presentation,DUSTDAM,was an installation space exhibiting thirty garments from his new collection alongside his in-house furniture. The garments were on a wooden display thirty meters in length. The final segment,DUSTPUMP,was a life-sizedwax sculptureof Owensurinatingonto mirrors and sand. The statue is now installed at his flagship Paris store.

VICIOUS SS14

Owens' Spring/Summer 2014 womenswear collection had a team of forty step dancers with members from The Zetas, Washington Divas, Soul Steppers and The Momentums sororities as runway models. Their dance performance, accented with "grit face" expressions, was done in lieu of a typical runway presentation.They had trained for the runway performance for six months. Owens also intended for this collection to be more inclusive with body representation.This fashion show also marked the debut of his collaboration with Adidas that lasted for several seasons. The footwear designs took cues from Adidas' own designs reworked with Owens' design language of exaggerating shapes and proportions. The footwear collaboration was a commercial success and brought Rick Owens further into the mainstream, adding to the success and press of the fashion show itself.

BABEL SS19

The Spring/Summer 2019 collection makes references to the Russianconstructivistarchitecture movement and the biblicalTower of Babel.The collection was shown atPalais-Royalein Paris with a tower the center of the runway bearing inspiration toTatlin's Tower.Owens used this collection's influences to incorporate geometric silhouettes and design lines into his garments, and included unconventional materials such as removable tent poles to achieve this.This collection also was the first time Owens collaborated withECCO Leatherby using their translucent leather for footwear and apparel.

PORTERVILLE FW24

Owens' Fall/Winter 2024 collection pays homage to his hometown ofPorterville,California and was displayed at his house and headquarters in Paris. In the collection's display, models walked around the halls of the house while members of the audience gathered along the walls.Owens experimented with a number of distinctive silhouettes, including stoles,shoulder pads,and boots. Notably, this collection introduced inflatable knee-high rubber boots, distinctive for their large volume and rounded shape.

Controversies

Exposed models during the Fall/Winter 2015 menswear show

The menswear "Sphinx FW15" runway featured garments that were intentionally draped and patterned to reveal the model's genitalia. Each model was carefully chosen based on his height and proportions so that the fabric would not reveal too much or too little of his groin.Owens stated in an interview he was inspired by the male nudity ofclassical marble sculpturesfor this collection.

Model scandal during the Spring/Summer 2016 menswear show

During the "Cyclops SS16" menswear show in Paris,male fashion muse,artist, and musicianJera Diarc,who worked for Owens as a model, held up a sign that read, "Please Kill Angela Merkel. Not."This action overshadowed the entire week, gained worldwide attention, and went viral.There was a lot of speculation regarding whether this was political activism,an art performance,or a simple stunt onJera's part,or was deliberately stagedas part of the show's theme of "protest and male aggression". Owens distanced himself from it and stressed that he and his company had not known anything about it in advance; he also banned Jera from his shows. Owens went on to call Jera his muse in several statements which he gave afterwards.

When Jera was asked about the incident in an interview with the magazineHighsnobiety,he was vague and did not reveal exactly what he had been aiming for with the stunt. He ended the interview with the statement, "Everything for rckNrll. Everything for art. Everything for the cause. And the cause is above everything."

Rick Owens "Dunk" Sneaker

Rick Owens "Dunk" sneaker

Owens' most notable attempt at producing an in-house sneaker was first unveiled during his "Moog FW05" collection. It featured an exaggerated tongue, a padded collar, a crepe sole with a rubber sidewall stitched and reinforced with staples at the heel, and a medial zipper for ease of access. He stated his intention for this athletic-inspired high-top sneaker was to create "monster trucks" for your feet. The most notable design aspect was an appliqué that resembled aNike Swooshand thePumastripe logo. His following collection, "Dustulator FW06", received critical acclaim and featured the fully-realized version of his new sneaker. A later version of the sneaker was inspired by theAdidaslogo for his "Crust FW09" collection. Colloquially known as the "Dunk" due to its resemblance to Nike's sneaker of the same name, Owens stated in an interview that he received a cease and desist letter from Nike regarding his footwear design. Despite the alleged letter sent from Nike, the sneaker was available in its original form for retail sale as late as 2010. The Rick Owens "Dunk" sneaker was then replaced by the Geobasket sneaker which features no potentially infringing design elements, and instead features geometric panels.

Furniture line

In addition to designing clothes, Owens designs furniture. His furniture was originally custom-designed and tailored for his own use while in Paris. Owens's furniture line is influenced by architectural elements such as Brutalism and German World War II bunkers, characterized by angular movements and sculptural forms. He occasionally incorporates a pair of antlers, mimicking asymmetric wings to a pair of chairs.Galerie Philiahas exhibited some of his works.

His first furniture show in Berlin was made possible by the publisher,Angelika Taschen.Taschen has known Owens and his wife since they lived in Los Angeles. Taschen included his Parisian living space in her book, New Paris Interiors. She was taken away by Owens's eye for furniture design and wanted his work to be showcased in her hometown, Berlin. The Berlin Gallery Weekend 2010 took place from April 30 to May 2 in which 40 galleries mounted new exhibitions. Presented by Taschen, Owens's show, ‘To Pop A Boner,’ was on display at the famous Apartment store.

In July 2005, Owens introduced a furniture collection. Using raw plywood, marble, alabaster, bronze, leather, and moose antlers, the collection is inspired by his favorite shapes from Eileen Gray toBrâncușito California skate parks. The furniture collection has since been shown at the Musée d'Art modern in Paris and theMuseum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.Owens credits his wife,Michèle Lamy,as the creative force behind his furniture show. The exhibit showcases new works as well as classic pieces, in which some were envisioned for this newest store located in Soho, New York. The couple has worked together throughout the design process for his furniture line. Owens comes up with the drawings in which Lamy then creates the preliminary models for. Before his wife hires artisans to create the final pieces, the two carve, re-proportion, and make any adjustments beforehand. Owens leaves the installation process in Lamy's hands, who writes the summaries for the pieces as well.

External links

• Owenscorp
• Rick Owens Official Site
• Voguepedia - Rick OwensArchivedMarch 31, 2014, at theWayback Machine
• Voguelist - Rick Owens
• Rick OwensatFMD