#2: A Rick Owens Love Affair
A personal experience with one of my most admired fashion designers currently
There are many designers that have helmed the avant garde space of fashion. From Rei Kawakubo to Yohji Yamamoto to Issey Miyake. Each designer has pushed the envelope for textile and silhouette focused design practice with predominately dark colors. The one designer that really opened my eyes and convinced me to dip my toes into this different space of thought when it came to fashion was none other than Rick Owens.
A born and raised in SoCal Rick Owens started his namesake brand in 1994. Rick’s start in the industry would begin with his enrollment in the arts at Otis College of Art and Design, but would end up deciding to drop out after 2 years of attendance. Soon after, he would make the decision to take pattern-making and draping courses at the Los Angles Trade-Technical school. After completing trade school, he would take up a job in producing bootleg product of established designer brands for the garment industry. Later in his life, he would then meet his lifelong business partner and wife Michele Lamy, a French designer and entrepreneur who would become the other half of the brand. As I would watch interviews of the mysterious power couple, I saw nothing but pure chemistry and respect for each other’s viewpoints. The Rick Owens line ranges from finely delicate silks, nylons and thinner cottons for a dynamic and flowy garment, to structured, bruiting and durable canvas, mid weight/ heavy cotton or even denim in certain situations.
I subconsciously discovered Rick Owens during my time in highschool. This had been the era of the all black everything movement led by Kanye, A$AP, Virgil with Pyrex Vision and Been Trill, and other clothing labels like Black Scale and Hood By Air. With the Watch the Throne era filled with Givenchy Rottweilers, leather pants, ripped skinny jeans, Red flannels, Don C And 40oz Van Caps and Pyrex Vison basketball shorts. This was also during the rise of Instagram and Tumblr, a gateway into celebrity and influencer inspiration. One picture that comes to mind of seeing Rick without knowing it was Rick was a picture of Kanye wearing this long washed out coat, paired with black skinny’s and the Visvim Moc sneakers that were really popular at the time. I always assumed it was just an old military surplus jacket Kanye pulling off with ease, but it was so much more. Never would I be able to afford anything at that level, even with my first part-time job as a bus boy later on in school. The only access of clothing I had any interest in was at my local Zumiez or Tilly’s at the time and maybe I’d convince my dad to purchase something online that wasn’t attainable near me, but having a job later on opened me to purchasing clothing outside of the mall like Supreme, 40 oz Van, or stuff I’d see on Karmaloop and Plundr.
It’s now April of 2020. it’s been about a month into the global pandemic, uncertain about what’s going on in the world. I was uneasy going to work during the pandemic, making me very anxious and nervous at the time and needed to put my mind to something else. I was currently in a sort of disinterest in what I’ve been wearing lately as it was boring me out and wanted to dive into something new and exciting. I’d been interested in higher fashion starting around 2017, when I was attending community college. I would watch YouTube videos of Avery Ginsberg of GearedTowardGear and Kyron Warrick of Gotsweige, discussing recent pick-ups that featured more expensive designer pieces, including some from Rick Owens. I’d also seen them and many others putting together crazy fits with Rick Owens apparel, so when I heard we were getting that first stimmy check, you know I had to ball out on some Rick bottoms.
My first Rick Owens piece is a pair of DRKSHDW Black Drawstring Long Lounge Pants. These were on sale via SSENSE spring sale, so I got these for a decent discount. When I received them, I wasn’t expecting a thinner pair of bottoms and they were quite long. I did get them hemmed a couple inches later that week, but I adored the drape, flow and break on my legs. I fell in love with how wide and exaggerated the pants were and how they hit the footwear I had chosen. No exaggeration, I felt like a superhero in these Rick Owens bottoms. It really reignited a spark and had gotten me excited, which is what I love most about fashion, the excitement. It genuinely brings me joy to wear something that looks so alien to me. They look especially great in a pair of Doc Martens, some white sneakers like a Club C or some sandals like a suicoke or a Birkenstock.
Speaking of Birkenstock’s, my next piece or pieces of apparel I have are in Collaboration with Birkenstock and Rick Owens. I currently own three different pairs of the Arizona model of Birkenstock’s from the collaboration. What separates the general Arizona to the Rick Arizonas are the material choices and that the straps are quite long and exaggerated, giving it a cargo-esque look with many more holes on the strap for added length. My first pair is the suede grey pair, which are my favorite out of the three because of how comfortable the suede is on feet and it gives a more worn in and grunge look that I love most about Rick. The second pair I feel is a little more elegant and regal because of its wool material along the straps and sides of the sandal, reminding me of a nice brown wool overcoat. The last pair in the rotation is an all black and all leather construction. This is definitely what I would first think about if someone told me Birkenstock was working with Rick Owens. A excellent every day sandal I would mostly wear for the fall/winter months ahead.
The last piece I’d like to share are another pair of bottoms and they’re one of the handful of signature styles he is know for. They’re the infamous Rick Owens pod shorts, known for the exaggerated drop crotch. It took me a couple years to warm up to the decision of purchase due to the memories of drop crotch joggers from the karmaloop era, which I partook in and dislike looking back on that. With the Rick pod shorts, they personally evoke the image of me being a traveling gothic nomad. They add a fun twist on a pair of shorts with how crazy the proportions look and are also insanely comfortable. I always refer to them as the “poopy diaper shorts” when I wear them in front of my significant other. Being in California, a large majority of the weather is going to be dry and hot, finding myself wearing the same nylon shorts, graphic tees, and sneakers, so I took a chance to add a little Ricky spice to my wardrobe. Investing in a garment that’ll both be functional to your environment, garner excitement, and that’ll last is the perfect formula to the cost per wear ratio.
An honorable mention of a Rick Owens designed piece is a t-shirt from a collaboration with Stussy. This was for Stussy’s 40th anniversary and to celebrate, they gathered five different designers to create a t-shirt using the classic Stussy world tour motif and make it in their own image. To top it off, each designer would choose a charity of choice to donate a portion of the proceeds to. Rick would choose to have the original logo as is, with a black Stussy logo, white on white lettering and a picture of Michele Lammy’s teeth with bling and all, which I thought was very sweet of Rick to put part of her full center on the shirt. Also, he would have his signature on the back of the tee. It’s fairly simple, but at this point I’m just a big Rick fan boy.
The world Rick and Lammy have crafted with Rick Owens has sucked me in and many others, with all it’s details and meticulous design practices with each garment, telling a story with each collection. I can’t wait to see the duo create more interesting and thought provoking work in the many successful years to come and I hope I can cop some more Rick pieces in the future.
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