Mood board: A day before the show, Rick Owens Instagrammed a label that read ‘L. LeGaspi, inc.’. It was stitched inside a piece of clothing found in the archives of costume designer Larry Legaspi, the architect behind Kiss and girl-group Labelle’s iconic 70s looks. ‘He introduced a camp ferocity to the mainstream and helped set a lot of kids like me free, with his mix of art deco sexual ambiguity and raw, black leather bombast,’ Owens said. The lightning bolt graphic, snaking up the thighs of Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley’s original jumpsuit, was translated into quilting on nylon vests and used as linings for dramatic collared wool coats with lacquered canvas box pockets. A puffa bolero was curved around the arm, evoking a treble cleff. Trousers in cotton doeskin had suede knee patches - their volumes had a swooping couture consciousness. The mood was seductive and sexy. All in Owens’s esoteric style.
Team work: There is always a twisted kind of Americana to Owens’s clothes - recognisable basics are elongated or teased. Ribbed tanks are bleached, necks on T-shirts are worn out. Flannel tailoring had raw shearling and quilted nylon inserts. The models wore huge platform sandals and boots. Owens said: ‘Maybe in an era of squeamish conservatism and easy outrage we could use a bit of flamboyance.’ Shoulders were peaked, the silhouette elongated and pulled high up. The collection had all of the gall and glamour we deserve. A collaboration with French sneaker brand Veja resulted in their first performance runner, which happens to be Owens’s first 100% vegan shoe.
Scene setting: The show was lit by a single stream of white light; most of the guests sat in relative darkness. A 1940s searchlight, manufactured by General Electric in the US and then shipped to France to be used by the allies on the beaches of Normandy, was placed at the foot of the catwalk. The quintessential American in Paris. It lent a moody glimmer to the clothes, which were held together by the glitz of 1970s glam-rock. A remix of Swedish rock group Leather Nun’s cover of ABBA’s pop classic Gimme Gimme Gimme played loud.
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Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales film series comes to life for Art Basel ParisIn ‘Tales & Tellers’, interdisciplinary artist Goshka Macuga brings Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales film series for Art Basel Paris to life for the public programme
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Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh furniture meets South Asian diasporic art in an unusual London exhibitionRajan Bijlani curates a show combining Pierre Jeanneret furniture for the Indian city of Chandigarh with works for sale by six artists of South Asian origin – in his own London townhouse
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The Fender American Ultra II combine made-in-the-US quality with contemporary techA deluge of new products from Fender shows the iconic guitar manufacturer still knows how to innovate and entice
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Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France FemmesMarking 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
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At home with Rick OwensAs 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
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Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
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Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear showsFrom 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
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Paris Fashion Week A/W 2021: discotheque chic to apres-ski sleek -
Walk this way: navigating S/S 2021's Paris Fashion WeekHow the City of Lights looked to the sartorial realities of our much changed lifestyles
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Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Chanel A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s
