Thu, 10/01/09 — 03:47:28 PM
>> This evening at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts, Rick Owens had a bit of a seating situation, leaving a number of guests standing and unhappy. One editor reportedly decided "standing is the new front row," and WWD later noted: "If you’ve outgrown your venue, move on. Otherwise, there’s no excuse for double-booking seat upon seat."
To a soundtrack of crashing waves and with Gareth Pugh front row (Owens attended Pugh's show yesterday), a stream of sculptural shoulderpieces, long loincloth-like skirts, slicked back hair (glue sticks were used to keep it in place) and crinkled metallic bubble dresses exited backstage. Suvi Koponen made her first appearance since her smattering of shows at New York Fashion Week, but most striking was Owens's sudden casting of models of color — Georgie Baddiel, Kinee Diouf, Aminata Niaria, and Rose Cordero all made appearances; his shows have been entirely whitewashed since the Spring 2005 season, when he also cast four black models.
Thu, 09/03/09 — 02:20:40 PM
>> Rick Owens Isn't Concerned with Being Copied —Designers are having a Rick Owens moment, New York Times's Ruth La Ferla asserts today, from Rag & Bone to Ohne Titel. It makes sense, Karlo Steel, partner at Atelier boutique in New York: “We’re coming out of a period that was very flamboyant. Fashion’s pendulum is swinging away from that now in a direction that is a bit anti-material.” Owens, for his part, took little heed at the thought — “when something’s in the air, no one can really own it" — except to say: "Suffice to say that it’s motivation for me to do my best to move forward.” [NY Times]
Wed, 05/13/09 — 04:08:15 PM
>> INSIDER WIRE —Late last month, a group of designers, including Narciso Rodriguez, Maria Cornejo, Jason Wu, and Thakoon Panichgul, took a trip to Washington, DC accompanied by CFDA executive director Steven Kolb to lobby for an anti-piracy bill to stop mass retailers from knocking off their ideas. But when Rick Owens was recently asked if he cares that his look is being rampantly copied, his reply? "No-oo. I guess it's a compliment." [Guardian]
Fri, 04/10/09 — 04:37:26 PM
>> Karl Lagerfeld gives us the quotables, Marc Jacobs gives us a little tabloid-style drama, and Rick Owens, who recently stated that "working out is modern couture," is starting to hold his own in the interview arena — there's nothing like a good, strong opinion.
He recently sat down in his Paris showroom for a ten-minute video interview with Hint, covering everything from what he thinks is "icky" to why we almost didn't have any Rick Owens runway shows. The highlights:
Though he used to be based in LA, he finds designers there "arrogant and demanding."
LA is great at making sitcoms. Paris isn't as good as LA is at making sitcoms; every place has their specialty. And then they do LA Fashion Week, which is incredibly arrogant and demanding. I mean, these editors have been all over the globe for a couple of weeks [for Fashion Month] and then LA is saying 'Okay, now you have to come here.' Please, I mean, get off your ass and go to Europe. I mean, that's what I did and you just have to go where you have to go. They just don't have the tradition, and they do other things really good, so why do they have to be a fashion capital? They're the movie capital of the world and they've always been that, can't they just be satisfied with that?
So why Paris over New York?
Excess and being more extreme, Paris is the place to do it. Not only is it accepted in Paris, it's practically enforced, and I knew that's the kind of designer I wanted to be. I knew I wasn't going to be Comme des Garcons — I don't think anybody is going to do that anymore — but I knew that I wasn't going to be straight enough for New York.
Doing runway did make him feel like a sell-out. »
Fri, 03/27/09 — 04:46:09 PM
>> We hear lots from the Marcs and Karls of the world, but how about a little from cult figure Rick Owens? He sat down with both Details and Vice Magazine recently for a few choice words about the possibility of advertising or designing for another label, and how he dresses up with a mink coat. He doesn't hold back, calling himself "a soft sissy" as a kid, and "a selfish c*nt" now.
He makes heart leap-inducing clothes, but he's not a fan of them himself.
I’m not really into clothes. I wear one outfit like a uniform, and I have for years. Black sweatpants, black baggy shorts over them, a black or white cotton t-shirt, and a black cashmere t-shirt over that. I couldn’t imagine having to change outfits every day or having to change for the gym. This outfit takes me to the gym, to work in the studio, and then to dinner with a mink coat over it.
In fact, he'd rather you work out than buy clothes.
Working out is modern couture. No outfit is going to make you look or feel as good as having a fit body. Buy less clothing and go to the gym instead.
The extreme sensation of working out has replaced the mosh pits of my earlier years and the sex clubs for years after that. It’s a great combo of discipline, joyous release, meditation, and vanity. Music never sounded as good as it does now, pounding through those earbud headphones into the pit of my stomach as I feel my muscles swell.
Advertising in the future? »
Sat, 03/14/09 — 04:23:08 PM
>> For the first time, Los Angeles Fashion Week is without former sponsor IMG. Things were up in the air until early this month, when a weekend of runway shows was announced and tickets were made open to the public — for a price.
Last night, Gen Art hosted three of the most promising talents of the week(end): Raquel Allegra, whose shredded t-shirts have been spotted on Kate Lanphear and launched a DIY epidemic — she added hand-dyed leather pants and leggings for Fall 2009 and promises expansion into cashmere and silks, shoes and accessories next; Grai, the three-year-old line designed by one-time Rick Owens student Maya Yogev (whose Owens training clearly inspired her full-length skirts and draped leather jackets); and Society for Rational Dress, whose designer Corinne Grassini launched a capsule collection exclusive to Barneys last month — the Fall 2009 collection features her signature harness detailing and a chain-and-leather breastplate.
*image: source
Thu, 03/05/09 — 05:18:04 PM
>> Rick Owens traded in his Spring 2009 nuns for Fall 2009 swans, with feather headbands and ice queen pastels intermixed into his usual black palette. Apparently, a good number of the models showed up backstage — including Sasha Pivovarova, who teasingly complained about her jacket causing people to touch her — wearing at least one Rick piece, a testament to his fashion following; another testament: Anna Wintour chose his show as the last to which 60 Minutes's Morley Safer would accompany her. But when you've got jackets and boots like these, what do you expect?
*image: source
Wed, 10/15/08 — 02:35:05 PM
>> INSIDER WIRE —We've heard Marc Jacobs wax poetic on his recent choice of skirts, but why the heels for his bow at Louis Vuitton? They were Rick Owens, natch, and he wore them to empathize with all the women who suffer for fashion: "Although I've always wanted to be taller, which is the real reason I wore them, I also thought I can show that I, too, will suffer for fashion." [The Cut]
Tue, 06/10/08 — 04:14:04 PM
»Ali Stephens demonstrates her runway walk, superior cross-country talents [The Cut]
»Lane Crawford enlisted 12 designers, including Alexander McQueen and Rick Owens, to create Olympic-inspired looks [FWD]
»Lily Cole was spotted in New York [Fashionista]
» . . . while Irina Lazareanu has been in San Francisco [Style File]
»Helena Christensen reads Dazed & Confused poolside in Miami [Egotastic!]
»Is Tory Burch trying to up her cred by partnering with Surface 2 Air? [Nylon]
»Previews of the Jenni Kayne, Yoehlee, and Richard Chai Resort 2009 collections [Style.com, WWD, WWD]
Sonia Rykiel
Timberland
Fantasie