SERENA TIBALDI — RICK OWENS: “I WANT TO BE FASHION’S ECCENTRIC FOOTNOTE.” — JUNE 28, 2025 — By LA REPUBBLICA

FOR THE FIRST TIME, PARIS CELEBRATES THE CALIFORNIAN DESIGNER WITH A MAJOR EXHIBITION: “I’LL NEVER CONFORM TO SELLING PRODUCTS LIKE THOSE IN DUTY-FREE SHOPS.”

“I WANT TO BE FASHION’S ECCENTRIC FOOTNOTE.” THAT’S RICK OWENS’ HIGHEST ASPIRATION. THE DESIGNER, BORN IN 1963 IN PORTERVILLE, CALIFORNIA, HAS CARVED OUT HIS OWN PATH FOR OVER THREE DECADES, KNOWN FOR HIS IMPOSING PRESENCE AND COLLECTIONS THAT ARE BOTH PROVOCATIVE AND POETIC. BUT A MERE FOOTNOTE HE IS NOT. HIS FIERCELY INDEPENDENT LABEL IS NOW A €200 MILLION POWERHOUSE, WITH DEVOTED FOLLOWERS AND MUSEUMS COMPETING FOR HIS WORK. SPEAKING OF MUSEUMS: STARTING TOMORROW AND RUNNING THROUGH JANUARY 4, 2026, TEMPLE OF LOVE OPENS AT THE PALAIS GALLIERA—THE FIRST EXHIBITION IN THE FRENCH CAPITAL DEDICATED TO OWENS, WHO HAS LIVED IN PARIS SINCE 2003 WITH HIS WIFE, ARTIST MICHÈLE LAMY.



WHY DID YOU NAME IT TEMPLE OF LOVE?

“BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT I’D LIKE IT TO BE. I WAS A FLAMBOYANT KID IN A CONSERVATIVE TOWN—I NEVER FORGOT THE WAY PEOPLE LOOKED DOWN ON ME. BUT THEN I DISCOVERED DAVID BOWIE AND THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, I FELT SAFE. THERE WAS ROOM FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME, PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T FIT INTO THE DOMINANT CULTURE. SO I DECIDED TO BE THE OUTSIDER. THINK OF THE BEAUTY SECTIONS IN AIRPORT DUTY-FREE SHOPS.”



WHAT ABOUT THEM?

“THEY’RE ALL THE SAME. THEY SELL THE SAME PRODUCTS, PROMOTE THE SAME IDEAL: A PERFECT BODY, LOUNGING ON A YACHT IN CAPRI, HAVING PERFECT SEX WITH SOMEONE EQUALLY PERFECT. AND THAT’S FINE—BUT THERE’S MORE TO LIFE. I PUSH BACK AGAINST THAT KIND OF STANDARDIZATION.”



AND QUITE SUCCESSFULLY.

“STILL, EVERYTHING CAN CHANGE. THAT’S WHY I WANTED THIS RETROSPECTIVE. MY WIFE HATES THE WORD BECAUSE IT IMPLIES THE END OF SOMETHING. AND SHE’S RIGHT. THAT’S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT. IT MAKES ME THINK ABOUT HOW WE ALL CONFRONT OUR OWN MORTALITY. I’M OVER SIXTY—I FEEL TIME SLIPPING BY. AND IT SCARES ME. IT REMINDS ME OF MY FATHER.”



IN WHAT WAY?

“HE GREW UP IN AN ORPHANAGE DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION. IT LEFT A MARK. HE WAS A TROUBLED MAN WHO NEVER ACCEPTED WHO I WAS. BUT HE WAS ALSO A SCHOLAR—HE INTRODUCED ME TO ART, LITERATURE, AND THEOLOGY. I USED TO THINK ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE WOULD BRING HIM PEACE, BUT HE ONLY GREW MORE BITTER. AND IF HE COULDN’T FIND PEACE, WHAT CHANCE DO I HAVE? I WORRY ABOUT BECOMING LIKE HIM, IN HIS BRILLIANCE, BUT ALSO IN HIS FLAWS. THAT’S PART OF WHY I FEEL THE NEED TO CONFRONT MY MORTALITY, HOWEVER I CAN. FOR EXAMPLE, THE SOUNDTRACK TO MY SPRING/SUMMER 2026 MEN’S SHOW—JUST BEFORE THE EXHIBITION OPENS—IS DIDO’S DEATH ARIA FROM PURCELL’S DIDO AND AENEAS.”



BACK IN 2017, YOU HAD SUBHUMAN INHUMAN SUPERHUMAN AT THE TRIENNALE IN MILAN. HOW IS THIS SHOW DIFFERENT?

“IN MILAN, I HAD FULL CONTROL. IT WAS LIKE WRITING MY OWN OBITUARY. WHICH IS A LUXURY” (HE LAUGHS). “THEN AGAIN, ISN’T THAT WHAT INSTAGRAM IS FOR? WE ALL USE IT TO PRESENT THE BEST VERSION OF OURSELVES—THE ONE WE WANT TO BE REMEMBERED BY. BUT I’D SAY THE PARIS RETROSPECTIVE REVEALS A MORE VULNERABLE SIDE OF ME, ESPECIALLY FROM THE EARLY YEARS.”



MANY DESIGNERS DISLIKE EXHIBITIONS; THEY THINK CLOTHES NEED TO BE SEEN IN MOTION.

“BUT I LOVE STILLNESS. IT LETS YOU REALLY TAKE IN THE EXPERIENCE. WHEN WE WERE WORKING ON THE VIDEOS FOR THE GALLIERA SHOW, SOMEONE TOLD ME THEY HAD TO BE NO LONGER THAN 30 SECONDS—THAT’S THE ATTENTION SPAN FOR SOCIAL MEDIA. I REFUSED TO CATER TO THAT.”



WHAT BOTHERS YOU ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA?

“I THINK IT’S MANIPULATIVE. THOUGH MAYBE I FEEL THAT WAY BECAUSE, AT 63, I DON’T REALLY SEE MYSELF REFLECTED IN THE PRESENT ANYMORE. I LOOK AT YOUNGER PEOPLE AND THINK THAT AT SOME POINT, THEY WILL TURN AGAINST ME. IT’S PART OF THE CYCLE—EVERY NEW GENERATION HAS TO REJECT THE LAST TO FIND ITS OWN IDENTITY.”



I THINK THEY ADMIRE YOU TOO MUCH TO DO THAT.

“BUT THEY SHOULD PUSH BACK! I DID. I WAS NAÏVE; I WORE SHREDDED CLOTHES TO SYMBOLIZE THE COLLAPSE OF THE FASHION SYSTEM. NOW, IN DEFIANCE OF TODAY’S NORMS, I WEAR MORE CLASSIC PIECES. MORE REFINED. THE WORLD COULD USE A LITTLE REFINEMENT THESE DAYS.”



IS IT TRUE YOU HAD TROUBLE GETTING THE CITY TO APPROVE THE EXHIBITION POSTER FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY?

“THEY WERE UNSURE AT FIRST. I EXPLAINED THAT IT WAS A TRIBUTE TO ALFONS MUCHA’S BELLE ÉPOQUE POSTERS—A WAY FOR ME TO CONNECT WITH THE CITY. THEY UNDERSTOOD. I’M REALLY HAPPY ABOUT IT, BECAUSE IT’S ALSO A TRIBUTE TO MY WIFE. WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR THIRTY YEARS—THAT’S SOMETHING.”