Richard Saturnino Owens (born November 18, 1962) is an American
fashion designer
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
from
Porterville, California
Porterville is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Tulare County, California, Tulare County, California, United States. It is part of the Visalia Metropolitan Area, Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area.
Since its incorporation in 1 ...
. In addition to his main line, Owens has a furniture line and a number of
diffusion line
A diffusion line (also known as a bridge line) is a secondary line of merchandise created by a high-end fashion house or fashion designer that retails at lower prices. These ranges are separate from a fashion house's "signature line", or principal ...
s.
Early life and education
Richard Saturnino Owens was raised in
Porterville, California
Porterville is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Tulare County, California, Tulare County, California, United States. It is part of the Visalia Metropolitan Area, Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area.
Since its incorporation in 1 ...
. His parents are John (d. 2015)
and Concepción "Connie" Owens. His mother is Mexican. Owens was raised in a conservative, Catholic household. After graduating high school, he moved to Los Angeles, California to study art at
Otis College of Art and Design
Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...
for two years before taking
pattern
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
-making and draping courses at
Los Angeles Trade-Technical College
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...
. This led to work in the garment industry, designing
copies
Copy may refer to:
* Copying or the product of copying (including the plural "copies"); the duplication of information or an artifact
**Cut, copy and paste, a method of reproducing text or other data in computing
**File copying
**Photocopying, a p ...
of designer clothing. Owens then met
Michèle Lamy
Michèle Lamy (born 1944) is a French culture and fashion figure. She has been a clothing designer, performer, film producer, and restaurateur, and is the life partner of Rick Owens. She is the co founding partner of Owenscorp and functions as t ...
, 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 in
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
. 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 by
Corrine Day
Corinne Day (19 February 1962 – 27 August 2010) was a British fashion photographer, documentary photographer, and fashion model.
Life and career
Early life
Corinne Day grew up in Ickenham with her younger brother and her grandparents. She ...
for
Vogue Paris
The French edition of ''Vogue'' magazine, formerly called ''Vogue Paris'', is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1920.
History 1920–54
The French edition of ''Vogue'' was first issued on 15 June 1920, the first editor-in-chief ...
in one of his signature leather jackets. This attention lead to
Vogue America sponsoring his first runway, which he titled "Sparrows FW02".
He moved to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 2003 with his partner
Michèle Lamy
Michèle Lamy (born 1944) is a French culture and fashion figure. She has been a clothing designer, performer, film producer, and restaurateur, and is the life partner of Rick Owens. She is the co founding partner of Owenscorp and functions as t ...
, 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 President
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
. 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 2002
Perry Ellis
Perry Edwin Ellis (March 3, 1940 – May 30, 1986) was an American fashion designer who founded his eponymous sportswear house in the mid-1970s. Ellis' influence on the fashion industry has been called "a huge turning point" because he int ...
Award for emerging talent and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the
Council of Fashion Designers of America
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory des ...
(CFDA) in 2017, Owens was also awarded the
Cooper-Hewitt Design 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 the
Triennale di Milano
The Triennale di Milano is a design and art museum in the Parco Sempione in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzo dell'Arte, which was designed by Giovanni Muzio and built between 1931 and 1933; construction was fina ...
on December 15, 2017. In June 2019, Owens won Menswear Designer of the Year Award at the 2019
Council of Fashion Designers of America
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory des ...
(CFDA) Fashion Awards.
Owens has authored three books — ''L'ai-je bien descendu?'', published in 2007, ''Rick Owens'', published in 2011, and ''Rick Owens Furniture'', followed by two books about
Larry LeGaspi, which was published in November 2019 by publisher
Rizzoli.
He had launched five labels including ''RICK OWENS'', ''DRKSHDW'', ''RICKOWENSLILIES'', ''SLAB'', and ''HUNRICKOWENS (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 with
cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
fabrics.
In 2018 and 2019, he has collaborated with
Birkenstock
Birkenstock Group B.V. & Co. KG is a German shoe manufacturer known for its production of Birkenstocks, a German brand of sandals and other shoes notable for their contoured cork footbeds (soles) made with layers of suede and jute, which conform ...
and French sneaker brand
Veja Veja may refer to :
Places
* Veja, a town in Lazio, central Italy; now Vejano comune
* Veja, a village in Stănița Commune, Neamț County, Romania
* Veja River, Romania
* Veja State, a former princely state in present Gujarat, western India
Perso ...
, 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 with
Moncler
Moncler S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion house specialized in ready-to-wear outerwear headquartered in Milan, Italy. Since its start as a down jacket boutique, Moncler has expanded to design vests, raincoats, windbreakers, knitwear, leather ...
and American activewear brand
Champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...
. In 2021, Owens would collaborate with footwear brands
Dr. Martens
Dr. Martens, also commonly known as Doc Martens, Docs or DMs, is a German-founded British footwear and clothing brand, headquartered in Wollaston in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England. Although famous for its footwear, Dr ...
and
Converse
Converse may refer to:
Mathematics and logic
* Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement
** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication
** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
. In a 2017 interview with
WWD, 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
.. connects with soul culture—black soul culture and music
.. l 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 married the French designer
Michèle Lamy
Michèle Lamy (born 1944) is a French culture and fashion figure. She has been a clothing designer, performer, film producer, and restaurateur, and is the life partner of Rick Owens. She is the co founding partner of Owenscorp and functions as t ...
in 2006. He is bisexual.
Notable collections
Rick Owens produces a menswear and womenswear collection each season, both under the same title and based on the same theme and references.
MONSTERS SS98
His Spring/Summer 1998 collection marks his first recorded fashion collection. This collection utilized his signature draping and
bias cut For woven textiles, grain refers to the orientation of the weft and warp threads. The three named grains are straight grain, cross grain, and the bias grain. In sewing, a pattern piece can be cut from fabric in any orientation, and the chosen grain ...
patterning he was noted for. Owens used materials such as silks, leathers, and furs for his garments. Imagery for the collection featured American drag queen
The Goddess Bunny, who also worked for Owens as a fit model in his studio. This collection is notable for including
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
models and
sex worker
A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker"
According to one view, sex work is d ...
s in the documentation of the collection.
SPARROWS FW02
His Fall/Winter collection entitled "Sparrows FW02" was his debut runway show at
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...
. This show was sponsored by
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
magazine. He was originally slated to show his previous "Vapor SS02" collection, but due to the terrorist attacks of
September 11
Events Pre-1600
* 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hun ...
, it had to be delayed. This collection exhibited his draped and tailored designs that he gained popularity for in the
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
in 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 at
Pitti Uomo Pitti Immagine is a collection of fashion industry events in Italy.
Pitti Immagine Uomo
Pitti Uomo (in English, "Pitti Men"), is one of the world's most important platforms for men's clothing and accessory collections, and for launching new projec ...
in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
with 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 his
athletic-inspired sneaker previously 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-sized
wax sculpture
A wax sculpture is a depiction made using a waxy substance. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief.
The properties of beeswax make it an excell ...
of Owens
urinating
Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...
onto 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 Russian
constructivist architecture movement and the biblical
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages.
According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...
. The collection was shown at
Palais-Royal
The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal ...
e in Paris with a tower the center of the runway bearing inspiration to
Tatlin's Tower
Tatlinʼs Tower, or the project for the Monument to the Third International (1919–20), Honour, H. and Fleming, J. (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Laurence King Publishing, p. 819. was a design for a grand monumental buildin ...
. 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 with
ECCO Leather by using their translucent leather for footwear and apparel.
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 of
classical marble sculptures for this collection.
Model scandal during the Spring/Summer 2016 menswear show
During the "Cyclops SS16" menswear show in Paris, male fashion muse, artist, and musician
Jera Diarc Jera may refer to:
* The ''j''-rune, or Jeran
* ''Jera'' (butterfly), a genus of skipper butterflies
* Jera, Allahabad, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
* Jera, Unnao, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
* Jera, Iran, a village in Hamadan Province ...
, who worked for Owens as 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 on
Jera Jera may refer to:
* The ''j''-rune, or Jeran
* ''Jera'' (butterfly), a genus of skipper butterflies
* Jera, Allahabad, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
* Jera, Unnao
Jera is a village in Hilauli block of Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh, India ...
's part, or was deliberately staged as part of the show's theme of "protest and male aggression". Owens distanced himself from it and stressed that he and his company hadn't 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 magazine ''
Highsnobiety
Highsnobiety is a global fashion and lifestyle media brand founded in 2005 by David Fischer. It was bought by German e-commerce giant Zalando in 2022.
Highsnobiety is headquartered in Berlin and has offices in Amsterdam, London, Milan, New York ...
'',
he was vague and didn't 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](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Rick_Owens_Dunk.png)
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 a
Nike Swoosh and the
Puma stripe 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 the
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
logo 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. Owens is now represented by a design gallery called Jousse Entreprise.
His first furniture show in Berlin was made possible by the publisher, . 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 to
Brâncuși to California skate parks. The furniture collection has since been shown at the Musée d'Art modern in Paris and the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's o ...
. Owens credits his wife,
Michèle Lamy
Michèle Lamy (born 1944) is a French culture and fashion figure. She has been a clothing designer, performer, film producer, and restaurateur, and is the life partner of Rick Owens. She is the co founding partner of Owenscorp and functions as t ...
, 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.
References
External links
OwenscorpRick Owens Official SiteVoguepedia - Rick OwensVoguelist - Rick Owens*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Rick
American expatriates in France
American fashion designers
American people of Mexican descent
Bisexual men
LGBT fashion designers
High fashion brands
People from Greater Los Angeles
1962 births
Living people
People from Porterville, California
American fashion businesspeople
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people