IL FOGLIO — I, RICK OWENS, WHO DREAMED OF VENICE IN PORTERVILLE — SEPTEMBER 5, 2024 — By GIANLUCA CANTARO

YOU VENTURE INTO RICK OWENS’ VENICE ON YOUR TIPTOES. WHILE THE EPONYMOUS BRAND'S SHOWS AND PARTIES ARE DREAMY, WITH DANTEAN SCENES TEEMING WITH FREAKISH ALIENS, GIANTS, AND QUASI-MYTHOLOGICAL BEINGS, THE DESIGNER HIMSELF IS A MORE RESERVED TYPE. AT FIRST GLANCE, HE MAY APPEAR UNAPPROACHABLE AND CRUEL, RESEMBLING SAURON FROM “LORD OF THE RINGS.” HE IS SLENDER, STANDING ALMOST TWO METERS TALL WITH HIS KISS PLATFORM SHOES INSPIRED BY GRACE JONES AND KISS COSTUME DESIGNER LARRY LEGASPI. DESPITE THIS APPEARANCE, HE IS ACTUALLY QUITE FRIENDLY. “DURING THE COVID YEARS,” HE SAYS, “WE HELD FOUR LIVESTREAM RUNWAY SHOWS ON THE LIDO WITHOUT AUDIENCES- TWO ON THE BEACH, ONE UTILIZING THE TEMPIO VOTIVO (SPARKING PUBLIC ANGER, FOLLOWING AN IMMEDIATE APOLOGY, ED.), AND ONE ON THE GRAD PIAZZA OF THE LIDO CASINO.” “THE TEMPIO VOTIVO IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BUILDINGS EVER, AND IN A WATER TAXI AT THE END OF THE EVENING IN VENICE, SEEING IT ACROSS THE WATER MEANS I AM ALMOST HOME….. THE LIDO CASINO IS PART OF MY DAILY LIFE- WHEN I RENOVATED MY APARTMENT A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM IT; MY GOAL WAS TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE A PART OF THAT BUILDING….” HE HAS BEEN SPENDING HIS SUMMERS THERE SINCE 2011, AND IN 2016, HE BOUGHT A HOUSE AND RENOVATED IT WITH MARBLE, MIRRORS, CONCRETE, AND A 360-DEGREE VIEW OF THE ADRIATIC SEA. HIS HOUSE LIES JUST A FEW STEPS FROM THE LEGENDARY HOTEL EXCELSIOR AT THE EPICENTER OF HIGH SOCIETY FOR A DOZEN DAYS A YEAR, BUT FAR AWAY FROM THE TORRENTS OF FOREIGN TOURISTS THAT FILL THE CITY EVERY DAY, PUNCTUATED BY A FEW IMPATIENT RESIDENTS. “THE LIDO IS TEN MINUTES AWAY FROM THE GRAND CANAL BUT A WORLD APART,” HE EXPLAINS.

“IT HAS THE MODESTY AND SERENITY OF A SMALL VILLAGE IGNORED BY THE CROWDS FLOCKING TO PIAZZA SAN MARCO. IT’S PERFECT FOR RETREATING TO AFTER VISITING THE FUTURISM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SPACES IN THE ANCIENT DENSENESS OF VENICE ITSELF. THE LIDO ACTUALLY REMINDS ME OF THE SMALL CALIFORNIA TOWN I GREW UP IN….” THE TOWN WHERE HE WAS BORN IN 1961 IS PORTERVILLE, CALIFORNIA. THIS SMALL TOWN HAS A POPULATION OF 53,000 AND LIES AT THE FOOT OF THE SIERRA NEVADA, LIKE MUCH OF SMALL-TOWN AMERICA, IT IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CANNOT BE DIFFERENT. A PLACE WHERE THE CATHOLIC CODES ARE STIFLING BUT MEANINGLESS BECAUSE PERHAPS WITHIN FAMILIES, LIKE WITH HIS FAMILY, PEOPLE PRAY BUT COLLECT FIREARMS AT THE SAME TIME. AT THE VENICE LIDO, OWENS GIVES NEW MEANING TO THE SINCERITY OF A PLACE IMMERSED IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERE. BECAUSE IN VENICE, YOU ARE CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY CULTURE, BEAUTY, AND EXCITEMENT, EVEN IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE. AND IT IS HERE THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND, SEE, AND MAYBE EVEN FINALLY EXPERIENCE THE MEANING OF A SINGULAR CHILDHOOD: IN THIS COMMUNITY, THERE IS NO TELEVISION UNTIL YOU ARE SIXTEEN, AND WHOLE DAYS ARE SPENT LEARNING ABOUT RICHARD WAGNER, GIACOMO PUCCINI, GIUSEPPE VERDI, AND READING MARCEL PROUST. THIS UPBRINGING STIMULATES AND SHAPES THE ALREADY PROFOUND SENSIBILITY OF LITTLE RICHARD SATURNINO OWENS, HIS FULL NAME AT BIRTH. “I REMEMBER LISTENING TO PUCCINI’S MADAME BUTTERFLY WHEN I WAS YOUNG (MY FATHER HAD AN HOUR OF TEA AND INCENSE AND CLASSICAL MUSIC EVERY DAY), AND THE DRAMA OF BETRAYAL, SELFLESSNESS, AND TRANSCENDENCE WHILE DYING IMPRESSED ME DEEPLY. PUCCINI’S NESSUN DORMA ALSO MOVED ME WITH ITS GLORIOUS YEARNING. …MY YOUTH WAS FILLED WITH EXOTIC STORIES OF LA TRAVIATA, NORMA, AIDA… STORIES OF LONGING, SACRIFICE, ECSTASY, AND DEATH THAT I BELIEVED FORMING ME. GRAVITATING TOWARD THE CULTURE THAT PRODUCED THIS KIND OF PRIMAL EMOTION WAS MY FATE… FELLINI, BERTOLUCCI, PASOLINI ALL HAD A RAW GRITTY VIBE THAT SEEMED SO MUCH MORE HONEST THAN OTHER MOVIES I WAS WATCHING WHEN I WAS BECOMING AWARE OF WHICH DIRECTION I WANTED TO GO IN LIFE…I THINK THEY HELPED ME DECIDE. SORRY TO BE SO CLICHÉ BUT MAHLER'S SYMPHONY NO. 5 SET TO VISCONTI’S DEATH IN VENICE WILL ALWAYS REPRESENT MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF THE VENICE I SAW IN MY TEENS IN A CALIFORNIA MOVIE THEATRE WITHOUT EVEN HAVING THE IMAGINATION TO DREAM I WOULD EVER GO THERE.” MANY DESIGNERS OF HIS CALIBER WOULD CHOOSE ROYAL RESIDENCES ON THE GRAND CANAL OR IN THE SAN MARCO AREA, BECOMING A PIECE OF THE POSTCARD MOSAIC AND REINFORCING OSTENTATIOUS POWER CLICHÉS BY ERECTING IVORY TOWERS AT THE CENTER OF PUBLIC, HIGHLY TRAFFICKED AREAS. ON THE OTHER HAND, RICK OWENS HAS SETTLED AT THE EDGE OF THE HUBBUB ON THAT OBLONG ISLAND, WHICH IS ONLY A FEW KILOMETERS AWAY, ALWAYS SLEEPY EXCEPT WHEN THE CURTAIN RISES ON THE FILM FESTIVAL. OWENS' FACE AND EYES ARE ALIVE WITH A PAST PUNCTUATED BY INTENSE EXPERIENCES, WHICH ARE EMBODIED IN HIS FASHION DESIGNS. AS HE EXPLAINED IN A NEW YORK TIMES INTERVIEW A LONG TIME AGO, HE STOPPED DRINKING AND TAKING HARD DRUGS AT THE AGE OF FIFTY. TODAY, HE LOOKS BACK ON THOSE TIMES THAT HE CALLS A “TEMPORARY SUICIDE” WITHOUT ANY REMORSE OR REGRET BECAUSE, IN THAT DARKNESS, HE HAS OFTEN FOUND BURSTS OF BEAUTY THAT HAVE TRANSFORMED INTO CLOTHING CREATIONS.

THE IMAGES FROM A 1988 MTV CLUB INTERVIEW WHERE, AS A 27-YEAR-OLD, HE PRESENTED HIS VERY FIRST CREATIONS AND DISPLAYED HIS CONFIDENT AND SOMEWHAT RECKLESS ATTITUDE ARE UNFORGETTABLE. HE HAD BEEN TURNED ON TO PRODUCTION BY HIS FUTURE WIFE, MICHÈLE LAMY, A PROMINENT FIGURE IN LOS ANGELES AT THE TIME, DESIGNING A LINE OF JERSEY DRESSES SOLD UNDER HIS LAST NAME. OWENS CAME TO L.A. TO STUDY AT OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, AND MEETING LAMY WAS PIVOTAL: IN 1990, HE BEGAN WORKING FOR HER AS A PATTERNMAKER. IT TOOK THEM TWO YEARS TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER, AND THEY EVENTUALLY WORKED SO WELL TOGETHER THAT MICHÈLE LEFT HER HUSBAND TO PARTNER WITH HIM. THEY LAUNCHED RICK'S LINE IN LOS ANGELES IN 1994 AND MOVED TO PARIS IN 2003, CHOOSING TO STAY THERE PERMANENTLY. NOW, HE’S A FASHION ICON, AND HIS RESIDENCIES INCLUDE ONE IN THE VENETIAN LAGOON. HOWEVER, HE SAYS, “I HAVE ALWAYS AVOIDED THE CARNEVALE AND THE FILM FESTIVAL – THERE IS A JOSTLING ARTIFICIAL INTENSITY THAT I USED TO ENJOY WHEN I WAS YOUNGER THAT NOW IS NOT FOR ME. I ENJOY THE QUIETER, MORE MELANCHOLY SIDE OF VENICE.” THIS INCREASINGLY ARTIFICIAL AND PLASTIC WORLD DOES NOT PARTICULARLY CHARM HIM: “I HAVE NEVER REALLY COURTED CELEBRITY EXPOSURE, BUT I WOULD HAVE TO ADMIT THAT WE HAVE CERTAINLY BENEFITED FROM IT. AS A SMALL INDEPENDENT LABEL, WE DON’T GIVE AWAY CLOTHES OR PAY CELEBRITIES TO ENDORSE OUR PRODUCTS, BUT THE ATTENTION THEIR ENDORSEMENT GETS WHEN THEY BUY SOMETHING AND WEAR IT IS DEFINITELY IMPRESSIVE.” EVERY CELEBRITY HAS WALKED A RED CARPET IN RICK OWENS, FROM ZENDAYA, BILLIE EILISH, KIM KARDASHIAN, AND TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET. BUT NO ONE SEES THE OWENS COUPLE ON THOSE SAME RED CARPETS. I IMAGINE THEM VISITING THE DESERTED ALLEYS AT NIGHT, WANDERING LIKE CURIOUS SHADOWS THROUGH THE SAME PLACES THAT, BY DAY, ARE STORMED BY HORDES, OFTEN DISRESPECTFUL OF THE MAGIC AND HISTORY IN THE STONES THEY TREAD ON. VENICE IS A DREAMLIKE PLACE, BECOMING EVEN MORE DREAMY WHEN YOU ARE AWAKE AND ENTER THIS “ORIENTAL CITY’S MAZE,” AS PROUST WROTE. BUT IT IS BETTER TO DO IT WHEN NO ONE IS AROUND. VENICE STAYS WITH YOU EVEN IF YOU DON'T REALIZE IT, LIKE OWENS' FASHION, WHICH, WHILE EXTREME, DISRUPTIVE, AND ALIEN, IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE PAST AND TRADITION. IT IS NOT COINCIDENTAL IN RECENT SEASONS; HE HAS BEEN AMONG THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DESIGNERS EMULATED BY FASHION STUDENTS. “I THINK THE ANCIENT IS ALWAYS THE NEW MODERN. THERE IS SO MUCH PAST BEAUTY OUR CURRENT GENERATION ISN’T EVEN FULLY AWARE OF. WE COULD JUST START THE HISTORY OF AESTHETICS ALL OVER AGAIN AND REVEL IN HOW NEW IT WOULD FEEL,” HE NOTES. THROUGH HIS FILTER, OF COURSE: “THERE IS A DENSE AND PATINATED OPULENCE TO ITALIAN CLASSICISM THAT AS A BLUNT AMERICAN, I FEEL I ABSORB, CONDENSE, DISTILL, AND INTERPRET IN MY OWN VERY REDUCED WAY…MY AESTHETIC GOAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO DRAG A BIT OF RADICAL FANTASY INTO EVERYDAY LIVING…WHICH ALWAYS ENDS UP LOOKING A BIT ALIEN.” SOMETHING LIKE HIS FASHION SHOW AT THE PALAIS DE TOKYO IN PARIS LAST JUNE. JUST AS THE PREVIOUS TWO SHOWS HAD TAKEN PLACE AT HIS HOME FOR A MORE INTIMATE SETTING (THEY WERE INDEED TITLED PORTERVILLE, AFTER THE SMALL TOWN HE ESCAPED FROM), HE CALLED THIS LAST ONE HOLLYWOOD TO CELEBRATE THE HUB WHERE HE ENCOUNTERED MANY STRANGER CHARACTERS THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE. THIS SHOW FEATURED ELEVEN ENSEMBLES OF TWENTY MODELS OF ALL SIZES, GENDERS, AND ETHNICITIES DESCENDING THE MAJESTIC STEPS OF AVENUE DU PRESIDENT WILSON. IN ADDITION TO THE AVOWED REFERENCES TO MYTHICAL BLOCKBUSTERS MIXED WITH ART DECO INTRUSIONS, I WAS IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT BACK TO THE MOST SENSATIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF AIDA’S TRIUMPHAL MARCH, AS THE SHOW SPRUNG FROM ITS BACKGROUND. THE PALETTE OF LIGHT NUANCES WAS REMINISCENT OF WORKS BY JOHN RUSKIN, A WRITER AND PAINTER WITH STRONG TIES TO VENICE, WHERE HE SPENT ENTIRE SEASONS IN HIS ROOM AT THE PENSIONE CALCINA ON THE ZATTERE. THE THEATRICALITY OF THE ENSEMBLES ALSO HARKED BACK TO THE CROWDS AT PIAZZA SAN MARCO DURING CARNIVAL. AT THE SAME TIME, THE DRAPERIES, SILHOUETTES, AND SET CONSTRUCTIONS WERE AN HOMAGE TO THE MASTERY OF MARIANO FORTUNY, ANOTHER VENETIAN BY ADOPTION. “I STUDIED THE MODERNISM OF MARIANO FORTUNY WHEN I WAS YOUNG AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN MY SMALL CALIFORNIA TOWN,” OWENS RECALLS. “I THINK I COPIED THAT MIX OF MODERN AND THE ANCIENT THAT MUST HAVE BEEN AS RADICAL AS PUNK ROCK IN ITS TIME. MARIANO FORTUNY'S INFLUENCE REMAINS ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES OF MY AESTHETICS AND A FEW YEARS AGO I WAS ABLE TO RECOLOR SOME OF THE ORIGINAL PRINTS AND HAVE THEM APPLIED TO MY FABRICS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE FORTUNY ESTATE.” NOT ONLY THAT, BUT OWENS IS ALSO A FASHION EXPLORER, A MARCO POLO OF AESTHETICS WHO VENTURES WHERE OTHERS DARE NOT GO. WHEN I ASK HIM IF I'M WRONG OR IF CERTAIN TRADITIONAL COSTUMES IN THE LAGOON ARE REMINISCENT OF HIS DESIGNS, HE WRYLY REPLIES, “WHEN I SEE SOME OF THE CLOTHES IN THE PAINTINGS AT THE ACCADEMIA, I FEEL THE URGE TO GET MORE SUMPTUOUS.” ALTHOUGH HE WAS BORN THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY, OWENS UNEXPECTEDLY HAS MANY VENETIAN TRAITS.

THE RESOURCEFULNESS OF GOLDONI, WHO INNOVATED THEATER WHILE MAINTAINING TRADITION, WITH A STRONG SENSE OF REALISM MARKED BY THE OBSERVATION OF SOCIETY AND SHOT THROUGH AN IRONIC LENS. THE MELANCHOLY OF THOMAS MAN, WHO IS IN DEATH IN VENICE, CAPTURES THE BEAUTY OF ITS DECADENCE, ELEGANCE, AND SENSE OF IMPERMANENCE BORN FROM THE TENSION BETWEEN BEAUTY AND DEATH. OWENS REPRODUCES THIS SAME TENSION IN HIS SOMETIMES-DISTURBING LEXICON: “IT IS THE PATINA OF THIS LEGENDARY HISTORY THAT CHARGES IT WITH SUCH GRAVITAS UNDERNEATH ITS DELICIOUS DELICACY,” HE CONCLUDES. “VENEZIA IS THE MOST IMPROBABLE, IMPRACTICAL CONFECTION THERE IS… SEEMINGLY FRAGILE BUT ENDURING AND ETERNAL.” THAT IS MOST TRUE, WHETHER RICK OWENS OR ANYONE ELSE SAYS IT.