Rick Owens 20x20x20 Brand Book (PART TWO)

INNOVATIVE

INNOVATIVE INNOVATIVE INNOVATIVE

INNOVATIVE INNOVATIVE INNOVATIVE How does Rick Owens innovate fashion design?

His innovative effect on the fashion industry does not stop at working towards becoming more sustainable, innovating the materials he uses or creating visuals that have never been done before. Rick Owens has claimed in the past that his work is a conversation he is having with the world. His innovative effect on the industry is within these conversation he has with the general public. It is using his creativity to fuel social change. The messages he puts out there for the world to consider. For example, putting men in heels on a runway has an effect on how people all around the globe look at the norms and conventions of gender and hopefully start to question the things around them and the decisions they make.

ELEGANCE

ELEGANCE ELEGANCE ELEGANCE

ELEGANCE ELEGANCE ELEGANCE What is the correlation between Rick Owens and elegance?

‘Elegance’ refers to the aesthetic of Rick Owens, in particular its neat, polished and attractive finish. This adjective is reflective of both the womenswear and menswear of Rick Owens and is included here to highlight the special quality of Rick Owens garments that are conceptual, well thought out and sometimes even unconventional yet still can take a simplistic form. Rick Owens’ elegance is represented in the simplicity of the design.

ARCHITECTURE

Architecture architecture architecture

Architecture architecture architecture In what way does architecture impact Rick Owens as a fashion designer?

Rick Owens has admitted in the past to take inspiration from all aspects of life, fashion or non-fashion related. An interest in expressing shape and volume, natural and artificial as polar opposites can easily be identified from looking at most of Owens’ runway looks although architecture and its construction has a more significant, and deep relation to Rick Owens’ creations. One of Owens’ biggest inspirations as an artist is le Corbusier, a Swiss architect from the 19th century, known for combining functionalism with bold sculptural expressionism within his designs. (Choay, 2019) The influence of le Corbusier’s career on Owens’ designs lies within the way Owens approaches the creation of an image. There is a curiosity and a subtle radical feel behind the creative processes of both artists’ which can be easily distinguished from their end concepts.

REBELLION

Rebellion rebellion rebellion

Rebellion rebellion rebellion What form does rebellion take in the world of Rick Owens?

The dictionary definition of rebellion is the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention. All individual aspects of this description can be found communicated creatively in the context of fashion by the designer. Rebellion takes form within the Rick Owens designs. Owens’ concepts do not align with convention as he proceeds to question the world and its patterns around him collection by collection.

SPECIFIC

SPECIFIC SPECIFIC SPECIFIC

SPECIFIC SPECIFIC SPECIFIC Is being specific a positive or negative attribute to Rick Owens?

Rick Owens as a brand attracts a very particular segment of consumer who are all part of a similar demographic, psychographic and behavioural group. As the messages conveyed through the garments regularly reflect on a time in recent history younger generations may not have the cultural, political or social awareness to be able to relate to these. Due to this factor generation Z and younger millennials may feel alienated as Rick Owens at this current moment is not directly catering for them. In this context being specific is not a positive thing but it could be argued that the brand’s consistent image is what allowed its cult following to form.

FLAMBOYANT

FLAMBOYANT FLAMBOYANT FLAMBOYANT

Flamboyant flamboyant flamboyant How does Rick Owens’ flamboyance as a person affect his work?

From researching into Rick Owens as a person I have learnt that he is an extremely flamboyant individual. Owens is an eccentric character and his extravagant way of approaching life does translate into his designs. From my personal analysis of ‘the Rick Owens aesthetic’ I have come to the conclusion that the fashion designer’s most noteworthy muse is himself. Especially in his menswear collection you can definitely identity elements that resemble Owens’ physical attributes. This could be the way a model’s hair is styled on the runway, the parts of the body a garment accentuates, or the general vibe that a collection possesses. Continuously focusing his creative efforts on his personal image as a designer comes across as self-centered, confident and flamboyant, which in terms of fashion design has not necessarily got to be a negative thing.

GLAMOUR

Glamour glamour glamour

Glamour glamour glamour What form does glamour take in the world of Rick Owens?

Despite the dark, goth-like aesthetic being synonymous with the label, there has always been space for a bit of glamour to surface at Rick Owens runways. In comparison to some of the fashion houses that exhibit a more streamline representation of glamour such as Christian Dior, Coco Chanel or Thierry Mugler, Owens’ glamour is slightly less conventional. As described by the fashion designer in an interview to Anders Christian Madsen he claims the following: “celebrating the prosaic and conventional is amusing, but it’s not the spirit of my spirit.” (Madsen, 2018) Rick Owens’ glamour comes from a place of punk rock, takes inspiration from the rock music of the 1970s. It is not as polished or as heavily focused on beauty ideals, it is influenced by individuality and the distinctive qualities that make a concept seem appealing.

CONTROVERSIAL

Controversial controversial controversial

Controversial controversial controversial Industry critiques in the past have used the word ‘controversial’ to describe the works of Rick Owens. Why? A memorable moment worth mentioning in the history of Rick Owens is the fall runway exhibition, described by fashion editor Tim Blanks as “his best menswear collections in recent memory”, which has strong relations to the label’s controversial quality and has taken the world of not just fashion but the general public by storm. (Blanks, 2015) The catwalk for the autumn/winter season of 2015 showcased a wide variety of signature Rick Owens looks and featured multiple male models walking down the runway in cape-like loosely fitted garments that exposed their genitals as they made their way down the path. Not having the cultural awareness necessary to understand the show can easily result in the collection being misunderstood and the messages communicated to be distorted as the designer’s only intention was to create a powerful, private moment during his exhibition.

GOTH

GOTH GOTH GOTH

GOTH GOTH GOTH How are Rick Owens consumers similar to followers of the goth subculture?

A goth influence can be identified within the work of many luxury fashion designers as it is a movement that has had an impact on literature, music, fashion, film and everything in between. The goth movement appeared in the United Kingdom in the early 80s and has been one that carried on existing throughout the years. The heart of this subculture has always been individualism and the idea of standing out from the crowd. A parallel can be made between followers of the goth subculture and the consumers who buy into Rick Owens: they all want to stand out and be different from what mainstream culture determines to be fashionable and relevant.

INDEPENDENT

INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT

Independent independent independent How is Rick Owens, as a person and as a fashion label perceived as ‘independent’?

The word independent relates to Rick Owens in a multitude of different ways. On a basic level of meaning, Rick Owens is perceived as independent due to the privacy that surrounds his design methodology. Owens is a private person and a private creative. He is known for heavily restricting the number of people who are allowed to view his collections before their exhibition, including his creative team. The word ‘independent’ also refers to Rick Owens in the context of the fashion industry.

Through the years Owens has almost entirely distanced himself from the rest of the fashion houses and in terms of collaborations he has kept them to a minimum. This allowed the fashion designer to create a bubble of his own where his brand’s identity could grow and progress organically, without direct influence or creative direction from others. By allowing himself to be so hands on with his collections his vision, garments and brand has evolved into something unique and strongly personal.

Rick Owens to this day still owns a large chunk of Owenscorp corporation, only 20% of which is owned by the commercial director and CEO of the company, the rest is in possession of the designer. (Woodward, 2017) This also supports my previously made statements.