FASHIONSNAP.COM — RICK OWENS TALKS ABOUT LOVE, HIS LARGEST—EVER RETROSPECTIVE IN PARIS — JULY 2025 — By TAKUMI UEOKA

RICK OWENS STANDS OUT IN THE MODERN FASHION WORLD AS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT DESIGNER, NEVER ALIGNING WITH ANY CONGLOMERATE. HE HAS CRAFTED A DISTINCTIVE AND ORIGINAL AESTHETIC THAT CONSISTENTLY LEADS THE INDUSTRY, CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS AND INSPIRING NEW IDEAS WITH EACH SEASONAL COLLECTION. HIS INFLUENCE EXTENDS TO BOTH DESIGNERS AND CONSUMERS. RECENTLY, HE HAS GAINED FAME FOR HIS SPECTACULAR SHOWS. YET, THESE ARE NOT MERE CLICKBAIT; THEY ARE DRIVEN BY AN INTUITIVE UNDERSTANDING OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE AND A DEEP REFLECTION THAT SHAPES HIS STYLE.

A RETROSPECTIVE TITLED 'RICK OWENS, TEMPLE OF LOVE' IS CURRENTLY ON DISPLAY AT THE PALAIS GALLIERA IN PARIS, FRANCE, RUNNING UNTIL JANUARY 4, 2026. THE EXHIBITION TRACES HIS CAREER OF OVER 30 YEARS, FROM THE LAUNCH OF HIS BRAND IN LOS ANGELES IN THE EARLY 1990S TO THE PRESENT. IT SHOWCASES MORE THAN 100 LOOKS, FROM HIS EARLIEST DESIGNS TO HIS LATEST WORKS. THE SHOW ALSO INCLUDES EPHEMERA SUCH AS INVITATIONS, MAGAZINE CLIPPINGS, AND ALBUM COVERS BY DAVID BOWIE, KLAUS NOMI, AND IGGY POP, AS WELL AS ARTWORK AND FILM MATERIALS BY HIS PARTNER MICHÈLE LAMY AND INFLUENCES LIKE GUSTAVE MOREAU AND JOSEPH BEUYS. THIS PROVIDES A LAYERED INSIGHT INTO RICK OWENS' CREATIVE UNIVERSE.

ADDITIONALLY, THE MUSEUM'S FIRST OUTDOOR EXHIBIT FEATURES THREE LARGE SEQUINED SCULPTURES, AND ONE ROOM DISPLAYS A LIFE-SIZED STATUE OF OWENS URINATING, FIRST REVEALED IN FLORENCE IN 2006. THE EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS OWENS' CONTINUED EXPLORATION OF ALTERNATIVE EXPRESSIONS, WHICH CONVEY KINDNESS RATHER THAN AGGRESSION.

AFTER DEBUTING THE SPRING/SUMMER 2026 MEN'S COLLECTION AND OPENING THE RETROSPECTIVE, HE EXCLUSIVELY GAVE AN INTERVIEW FOR THE SEASON TO ONE JAPANESE MEDIA OUTLET. THE SHOOT TOOK PLACE AT HIS HOME IN PARIS, AND WE EXPLORED HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT THE EXHIBITION, HIS BRAND, AND HIS CREATIVE INSPIRATION FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES.

THE TITLE OF YOUR EXHIBITION, "RICK OWENS, TEMPLE OF LOVE," USES THE WORD "LOVE." AND IN THE PRESS RELEASE FOR YOUR SPRING/SUMMER 2026 MENSWEAR COLLECTION, YOU WROTE THAT “LOVE IS A WORD REALLY WORTH PROMOTING RIGHT NOW.” WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT LOVE IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE ACTIVELY PROMOTING AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME? OUR WORLD IS EXPERIENCING SUCH HIGH STRESS - AND I SUSPECT MY WORLD CAN LOOK DYSTOPIAN TO SOME. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I WAS EXPRESSING WARMTH, GOODWILL, AND HOPE.

YOU'VE LONG ENGAGED DEEPLY WITH THE STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF CLOTHING—CUTTING, DRAPING, CONSTRUCTING. IN THE EXHIBITION, THERE’S FOOTAGE OF YOU WORKING DIRECTLY ON A MANNEQUIN, REFINING THE DRAPE BY HAND. IN A TIME WHEN MANY CREATIVE DIRECTORS ARE NO LONGER HANDS-ON, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO REMAIN PHYSICALLY INVOLVED IN THE MAKING PROCESS? CREATIVE DIRECTORS GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO DESIGN TEAMS ARE JUST PAINTING WITH A BIGGER BRUSH- THIS IS A TALENT I ADMIRE. I’M JUST MORE COMFORTABLE WORKING ARTISANALLY ON MY OWN, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE BOTH COMPLETELY VALID METHODS.

YOU PRESENT WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH YOURSELF OR YOUR BRAND IN ALL CAPS. WHAT DRAWS YOU TO THIS TYPOGRAPHIC CHOICE? THERE IS AN ARTIFICE TO ALL CAPS THAT MAKES EVERYTHING A CHEERFUL PROCLAMATION. AT LEAST THAT’S THE WAY I INTEND IT. AND GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN CAPS AND LOWER CASE FEELS CONVENTIONALLY FUSSY TO ME.

YOU'VE EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN AESTHETICS THAT SEEM ALMOST OPPOSITE TO YOUR OWN—LIKE ART NOUVEAU, FOR INSTANCE. WHAT IS IT THAT ATTRACTS YOU TO STYLES OR MOVEMENTS THAT DIVERGE SO SHARPLY FROM YOUR OWN VISUAL LANGUAGE? I AM SO ATTRACTED TO THE ORGANIC LANGUOR OF ART NOUVEAU BECAUSE IT SUGGESTS COMPLETELY INDULGENT COLLAPSE, WHICH IS SOMETHING I HAVE TOYED WITH IN THE PAST, BUT LEARNED I MUST AVOID IF I WANT TO SURVIVE. BUT I LOVE DREAMING ABOUT IT.

YOU’VE SAID THAT NAMING A COLLECTION IS ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS IN YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS. WHY IS THAT? WHAT DOES A TITLE UNLOCK FOR YOU CREATIVELY? IT DOESN’T UNLOCK, RATHER, IT RESTRICTS ME AND GIVES ME BOUNDARIES. IT IS A WAY OF GIVING MYSELF AN ASSIGNMENT TO FOCUS ON A MOOD.

THE DUSTY, FADED BLACKS YOU GRAVITATE TOWARD—LIKE “DUST” OR “DRKSHDW”—ARE SAID TO BE INSPIRED BY PUNK KIDS DYEING MILITARY SURPLUS GARMENTS WITH CHEAP BLACK DYE. WHAT DOES THIS APPRECIATION FOR “DAMAGED” OR DETERIORATED MATERIALS AND TONES MEAN TO YOU? THERE IS A SOFTNESS TO GREY THAT FEELS MODEST AND FORGIVING AND AMBIGUOUS AND ELEGANT. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE THIS GREY I HAVE NAMED DUST, BUT ALSO APPRECIATE THE PUNCTUATION AND STRICT SEVERITY OF BLACK.

IN THE EXHIBITION TIMELINE, THERE’S A REFERENCE TO A PHOTOGRAPH OF KATE MOSS, SHOT BY CORINNE DAY FOR VOGUE PARIS, WHICH WAS ALSO DISPLAYED. WHAT DOES KATE MOSS REPRESENT TO YOU PERSONALLY? KATE MOSS WAS A SOFT DEPARTURE FROM THE PREDOMINANT GLAMAZON AESTHETIC OF THAT TIME WHICH FELT LIKE A RESPITE FROM THE HARD FLASHY VALUES THE GLAMAZONS REPRESENTED. THERE WAS A QUIETER AND MORE POETIC FRAGILITY TO KATE MOSS THAT FELT LIKE IT WAS ADDRESSING A WIDER AUDIENCE. FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME, HER ARRIVAL WAS A VERY LIBERATING SHIFT IN CULTURAL AESTHETICS.

THE FIRST ROOM OF THE EXHIBITION WAS LINED IN FELT, A CLEAR HOMAGE TO JOSEPH BEUYS. WHILE THE SPACE FELT SEALED OFF FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD, IT ALSO SEEMED TO EMANATE A PARTICULAR KIND OF LOVE. COULD YOU SPEAK TO HOW YOU RELATE TO BEUYS’S METHODS AND HOW YOU’VE INTEGRATED THOSE INTO YOUR OWN WORK?THERE IS A SHAMANISTIC SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS TO HIS WORK THAT ALWAYS ATTRACTED ME. CONTRIVED OR NOT, JUST ADDRESSING IT IN HIS WORK, HE LINKED MORALS AND BEAUTY IN A WAY THAT ALWAYS STUCK WITH ME. HE MADE ME FEEL LIKE ADDRESSING BEAUTIFUL BEHAVIOR WAS SOMETHING I COULD ADD TO CELEBRATING PHYSICAL BEAUTY. AND THE RUGGED MODESTY OF HIS MATERIALS AND CONSISTENCY OF HIS VISION FELT LIKE A BEACON I COULD TRY TO FOLLOW.

SINCE 2016, YOUR RUNWAYS HAVE INCREASINGLY EMBRACED SCULPTURAL FORMS OF DRESS. ONE CAPTION IN THE EXHIBITION QUOTED YOU: “YEARS AGO, I SWORE I WOULD NEVER SHOW SOMETHING ON I THE RUNWAY THAT I DIDN’T THINK WAS A PRACTICAL WAY OF DRESSING. BUT THINGS CHANGE. SHOWING GOOD-LOOKING CLOTHES ISN’T ENOUGH ANYMORE.” .

WHAT CHANGED FOR YOU? WHAT MADE IT NO LONGER ENOUGH? I STILL MAKE IT A RULE TO NEVER SHOW ANYTHING WE DON’T PRODUCE FOR SALE, BUT AS THE WORLD HAS BECOME MORE STRIDENTLY JUDGEMENTAL, I HAVE REACTED BY MAKING CLOTHES THAT CHALLENGE AND MAYBE MOCK THAT CONDEMNING ATTITUDE A BIT.

YOU’VE STAGED SEVERAL THEATRICAL, ALMOST RITUALISTIC SHOWS AT THE PALAIS DE TOKYO IN RECENT YEARS. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THAT SPACE THAT KEEPS DRAWING YOU BACK, AND WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THIS PARTICULAR PERFORMATIVE FORMAT? THIS ART DECO FORTRESS WITH BAS RELIEF BY ALFRED JANNIOT AS A BACKDROP FOR MY RUNWAY SHOWS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST JOYS OF MY LIFE. IT’S MY FAVORITE ARCHITECTURAL SPOT IN PARIS, AND TO BE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO TRY TO RISE TO THE OCCASION OF PRESENTING SOMETHING THERE EACH SEASON KEEPS ME ON MY TOES.

THE FINAL ROOM OF THE RETROSPECTIVE FEATURES A BED OF YOURS—A QUIET, POTENT ENDING. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO END THE EXHIBITION WITH THIS? THIS BED IS THE FIRST PIECE OF FURNITURE MICHÈLE AND I MADE FOR OURSELVES. IT’S THE SEED OF ALL THE FURNITURE THAT CAME AFTER AND REPRESENTS THE CONTINUITY I TRY TO MAINTAIN THROUGH EVERYTHING I DO. IT FEELS AS CONNECTED TO MY CURRENT LIFE AS IT DID THIRTY YEARS AGO. IT’S ALSO AN INTIMATE REMINDER OF HOW THIS IS AN EXHIBITION ABOUT A SMALL AND PERSONAL CREATIVE GESTURE, NOT A CORPORATE GIANT.

IS THERE A WORK, A PERSON, OR AN EXPERIENCE THAT HAS MOVED YOU DEEPLY IN RECENT YEARS? I HAVE BEEN ENJOYING BELLA FREUD’S FASHION NEUROSIS VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE- THEY ARE THE MOST GRACIOUS AND ELEGANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD OF FASHION THAT I HAVE SEEN IN A LONG TIME. GENTLE, WARM, AND CAREFULLY CONSIDERED CONVERSATIONS WITH A BEAUTIFUL CURATION OF GUESTS.

BY THE WAY, HOW DID YOU CONCEPTUALIZE THE SPACE OF YOUR HOME IN PARIS, WHERE THIS SHOOT TOOK PLACE? ARE THERE ANY PARTICULAR DETAILS OR ELEMENTS THAT YOU’RE ESPECIALLY FOND OF? WE JUST STRIPPED EVERYTHING AWAY AND LEFT IT AS AN INDUSTRIAL RECEIVING AREA FOR PEOPLE AND ACTIONS TO FLOW IN AN OUT. THERE IS A PIANO IN THE FRONT ROOMS THAT IS PLAYED DURING DINNERS BY CANDLELIGHT AND IN THE SUMMER WHEN THE WINDOWS ARE OPEN IT’S HEAVEN.

HAVING LOOKED BACK ON YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THIS RETROSPECTIVE, WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR IN THE NEXT PHASE OF YOUR LIFE? I JUST WANT TO TRY TO LEARN AND BUILD ON WHAT I’VE DONE SO FAR.