GQ JAPAN — PERSON OF THIS MONTH: RICK OWENS — JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 — By ITOI KURIYAMA

RICK OWENS’ STRONG IDENTITY ATTRACTS PEOPLE WHO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SOCIETY.



THE RICK OWENS SHOW IS FAMOUSLY KNOWN TO ATTRACT HIS ENTHUSIASTIC FANS. SO, I ANTICIPATED THAT RICK, WITH FOLLOWERS WHO SPORT UNCONVENTIONAL HAIRSTYLES AND MAKEUP WITH A SOMBER ATMOSPHERE, WOULD BE RATHER INTIMIDATING. HOWEVER, TO MY SURPRISE, HE APPEARED BEFORE US WITH A CALM EXPRESSION.

WHILE LOOKING AT THE COVER OF OUR MAGAZINE'S NOVEMBER 2023 ISSUE, WHICH WAS PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE ENOURA OBSERVATORY DESIGNED BY CONTEMPORARY ARTIST HIROSHI SUGIMOTO, RICK SAID, “I WENT HERE JUST YESTERDAY.” HE CONTINUED, “HIROSHI (HIROSHI SUGIMOTO) WAS IN CHARGE OF THE PRODUCTION, AND I WAS IN CHARGE OF THE COSTUMES FOR AN OPERA PERFORMED AT THE PARIS OPERA IN 2019. I HAD A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH RYOJI (RYOJI IKEDA), WHO WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN THE MUSIC AND SPATIAL DIRECTION. I HUNG OUT WITH THEM IN ENOURA AND WENT TO THE HOT SPRINGS. IT WAS VERY QUIET AND PEACEFUL. BEFORE THAT, I WAS IN KYOTO AND STAYED AT AMAN KYOTO GARDEN. IT WAS VERY BEAUTIFUL, AND THE STONES USED THROUGHOUT THE SPACE WERE AMAZING. I VISITED A FEW TEMPLES BUT SPENT MOST OF MY TIME IN THE GARDENS. I’VE SINCE BEEN IN TOKYO AND NOTICED MORE SKYSCRAPERS THAN I THOUGHT.”

“I RETURNED TO TOKYO FOR A BOOK SIGNING AND A RAVE PARTY I WAS HOSTING. THE IMAGES IN MY LATEST BOOK WERE TAKEN BY PHOTOGRAPHER DANIELLE LEVITT BACKSTAGE DURING OUR RUNWAY SHOWS. I MET HER THROUGH A FRIEND WHO WAS MAKING A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT US, AND HER LIFE’S WORK OF PHOTOGRAPHING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES WAS AMAZING, SO I DECIDED TO WORK WITH HER. I ASKED HER TO TAKE PHOTOS OF ME AND THE CLOTHES I MAKE, WHICH ARE A WAY OF EXPRESSING MYSELF IN SOCIETY.”

DANIELLE, WHO RICK DESCRIBES AS A “SINCERE AND BRIGHT PERSONALITY,” SAID THAT THE MOST MEMORABLE THING SHE PHOTOGRAPHED THIS TIME WAS THE COLLECTION HE ANNOUNCED DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC FOR THE SPRING/SUMMER 2021 TO FALL/WINTER 2021-22 SEASONS. “THESE WERE VERY DIFFICULT TIMES FOR EVERYONE, SO I THOUGHT A COLLECTION CREATED IN THE FACE OF WORLDLY THREATS WOULD CONVEY AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE. THEREFORE, I HELD A SHOW WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE ON LIDO ISLAND IN VENICE, ITALY, WHERE I SPENT MY SUMMERS. WE GATHERED A MINIMUM NUMBER OF PEOPLE AND TRANSPORTED THE CLOTHES FROM THE FACTORY, ABOUT A TWO-HOUR DRIVE FROM LIDO. I THINK WE DID OUR BEST AND WERE ABLE TO PROCEED UNDER THE LIMITED CONDITIONS.”

“UNLIKE BRANDS THAT HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE OPINIONS OF DESIGN TEAMS, MARKETING, AND SALES, OUR GREATEST STRENGTH IS THAT WE CAN EXPRESS OURSELVES AS INDIVIDUALS. SO, OVER THE PAST FEW SEASONS, I HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON PLACES CONNECTED TO ME, WHICH EXPLAINS THE TITLE OF MY RECENT COLLECTIONS. THE SPRING/SUMMER LIDO MEN'S COLLECTIONS HIGHLIGHT A HIGH WAIST, NARROW WAIST, AND LONG LEGS SILHOUETTE. WE WANTED TO ACHIEVE POWERFUL LOOKS, SO WE UNIFIED IT IN BLACK. FOR MY NEXT COLLECTION, I AM THINKING OF NAMING IT “PORTERVILLE,'' AFTER THE TOWN IN CALIFORNIA WHERE I GREW UP,'' SAYS OWENS.

HE IS NOT JUST A FASHION DESIGNER, BUT ALSO DESIGNS FURNITURE AND JEWELRY ALONGSIDE HIS WIFE, MICHÈLE LAMY. THEY BOTH SHARE THE SAME CREATIVE PHILOSOPHY. RICK SHARED THAT HE IS GREATLY INFLUENCED BY MOVIES, PARTICULARLY HORROR FILMS SUCH AS "THE BLACK CAT" (1934), WHERE BELA LUGOSI AND BORIS KARLOFF STARRED. HE ALSO ADMIRES WORKS LIKE "THE TEN SONGS" (1923), "KING OF KINGS" (1927), "NERO THE TYRANT" (1932), AND "CLEOPATRA" (1934). BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE AND ARTISTS SUCH AS DONALD JUDD, CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI, AUGUSTE RODIN, AND GUSTAVE MOREAU ALSO INSPIRE HIM. WHILE HE DOESN'T CONSIDER HIMSELF AN EXPERT OR A COLLECTOR, HE IS INTERESTED IN CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS LIKE ANNE IMHOFF, ANSELM KIEFER, AND THOMAS HOUSEAGO.

FOR OVER 25 YEARS, RICK OWENS HAS BEEN CULTIVATING A DISTINCT PERSPECTIVE. DESPITE BEING A RESERVED INDIVIDUAL, HIS UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO INDEPENDENCE HAS ALLOWED HIM TO PURSUE HIS VISION. HIS DESIGNS, WHICH GENUINELY EMBODY HIS SPIRIT, ARE SURE TO CONTINUE TO APPEAL TO THOSE WHO FEEL ALIENATED BY SOCIETAL NORMS.