Rick Owens A/W 2015

Mood board: Rick Owens called his autumn show 'Sphinx', and dressed his mythical gatekeeper in a uniform so subverted that you may never look at a peacoat in the same way again. Opening with that nautical staple (cut from blasted leather or Berber blankets, no less), he riffed on pieces as close to classic as he has ever dared, exaggerating their trapeze flare until he turned it upside down, hung it from the neck and traipsed it out sans trousers as a dramatic cutaway tunic. Backstage, he associated that mariner theme with a French submarine film, which he later explored through the more abstract notion of 'compression'. It explained the way coats appeared ready to burst with mesh-covered quilting.
Best in show: Amongst the beautiful mix of editorial fodder, a series of vented cashmere and Melton wool blousons featured severe, artful paneling down the torso. With a touch of satin quilting winding beneath the arms, they too 'compressed' the season's message into wearable, covetable outerwear.
Finishing touches: Owens' recent Adidas footwear collaborations have erred far more on the sportier side than this season's opulent design - those ergonomic rubber soles, this time transferred onto a stretchy sock boot in butter soft suede.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Meet the Palestinian artist putting a candy-coloured twist on traditional glassmaking
With her company Ornamental by Lameice, designer Lameice Abu Aker is bringing joy and optimism to a time-honoured craft
-
Messika’s fluid jewellery is given a textural twist
The Parisian brand borrows a textural finish previously reserved for high jewellery with its new collection, ‘Move Ciselé’
-
This ingenious London office expansion was built in an on-site workshop
New Wave London and Thomas-McBrien Architects make a splash with this glulam extension built in the very studio it sought to transform. Here's how they did it
-
Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris
‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
-
Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France Femmes
Marking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
-
At home with Rick Owens
As California-born fashion designer Rick Owens is named one of the Wallpaper* USA 300 – a celebration of creative America – we revisit our conversation with Owens in the run-up to his S/S 2023 menswear show last year
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu Miu
In this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear shows
From giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2021: discotheque chic to apres-ski sleek
-
Walk this way: navigating S/S 2021's Paris Fashion Week
How the City of Lights looked to the sartorial realities of our much changed lifestyles
-
Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's