Rick Owens A/W 2017

Scene setting: The Palais de Tokyo feels like it was made for Rick. It is a grandiose, graphic 1937 construction outside, and yet inside it's all about brutalism, raw edges and broken concrete. It has been the constant backdrop to the American designer’s shows for the last two years, and yesterday it provided the perfect contrast to Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 31, a romantic soundtrack far from Owens’ usual techno-inspired music.
Mood board: Like Beethoven's sonatas, Rick Owens was in a complex mood, at times melancholy, at times zen and uplifted. Gone was the glitter, the jolly Paleolithic-looking girls and the almost couture-style feathered capes of the past few seasons. This time, it was Owens stripped bare, all khaki and black. The designer's hits were all there: the knee-high supple leather sneakers, the knotted puffas, the leather dresses, the long organza skirts. Make up was also more understated than usual, most of the models' faces being covered by cotton and wire headpieces mimicking mitres, crowns and veils that had also a whiff of menagerie (they could also be elephants and donkeys).
Sound bite: The question on everyone's lips: 'Was it political?' Not an easy one to answer, given that Owens usually loves to mess with our minds. However, post-show the designer stated, ‘After protest, one's attention might turn to personal behaviour, and maybe embracing what makes us civilised can be our most positive act.’ Suddenly, the mood of the collection and the Beethoven soundtrack were perfectly explained. In a season rife with anger and protest, Rick's serene stance was a heavenly breath of fresh air.
Rick Owens A/W 2017.
Rick Owens A/W 2017.
Rick Owens A/W 2017.
Rick Owens A/W 2017.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Exclusive: Thom Yorke and artist Stanley Donwood reminisce on 30 years of Radiohead album art
As the pair’s back catalogue of album sleeves, paintings, musings and more goes on show at Oxford’s Ashmolean, Radiohead singer-songwriter Yorke and his longtime collaborator Donwood talk exclusively to Wallpaper’s Craig McLean
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
This week, our editors have been privy to the latest restaurants, art, music, wellness treatments and car shows. Highlights include a germinating artwork and a cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway…
-
An instant modern classic, the new Hyundai Inster is an all-conquering, all-electric city car
Small EVs are making big waves as the tech continues to evolve. Hyundai shows everyone else how to do it
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: what to expect
Five moments to look out for at Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 in Paris (starting Monday 7 July), from Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela to Demna’s Balenciaga swansong. Plus, ‘new beginnings’ from JW Anderson
-
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