There is always a claim or a political or societal message underlying Rick Owens’ collections. The major political and economic crisis due to the war in Ukraine, the rise of the far right, the right to abortion suppressed or threatened in the United States, all subjects that make the American designer react who, through this new collection, named ‘’Edfu’’ after the ‘’Ptolemaic temple of Horus’’, wants to propose a little “order and discipline”. “I wanted simplicity, but I still wanted exaggerated shapes to gently tease all the righteousness and bigotry that creates so much conflict in the world”, he said in his collection notes.
Intimidated and inspired by the stoic permanence of Egyptian temples in the face of time, Rick Owens seeks to approach their tranquility amidst the chaos.
“I had recently retreated to Egypt where I found great comfort in the remoteness and scale of its history. My personal concerns and global discomforts felt petty in the face of that kind of timelessness”, he added in his press release. “Lying down in the dirt with the valley of kings within view was a perspective I liked. The temples, started by one civilization, seized and added onto by another, completed by another and then unearthed by yet another, were reassuring in their stoic permanence”.
Stiff, oversized shirts; generous tulle caftans-he got the idea while being pestered by flies in Egypt-worn over silk shirts that wrap around the body; flared pants that twist and drag under platform boots; shirts and jackets, worn inside out, cut from gray ripstop nylon with Dyneema running through it, a fiber that Owens says is “apparently one of the strongest in the world. I find that reassuring”; as well as other pieces made in collaboration with Paradoxe, a Parisian brand that strips surplus or vintage denim, then applies the threads to other denim pieces to create a richly textured effect.
Alongside his usual palette dominated by dark or neutral hues, Rick Owens is introducing bright metallic colors this season, such as yellow, pink, green and purple. Light and hope in a world in crisis.
©Rick Owens
