LIBERATION — PORTRAIT: RICK OWENS, BEYOND FASHION — JUNE 29, 2025 — By SABRINA CHAMPENOIS

HAVING LIVED IN FRANCE FOR OVER TWO DECADES, THE AMERICAN DESIGNER HAS BUILT HIS SUBVERSIVE AESTHETIC WITH COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE.

IN THE COURTYARD OF THE PALAIS GALLIERA, THE PARIS FASHION MUSEUM, IN EARLY JUNE, RICK OWENS POSES FOR LIBÉRATION. HE’S AGAINST A WALL, ON THE STEPS, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STAIRS—FULL-FRONTAL, IN PROFILE, THREE-QUARTERS VIEW. IT'S AN EXTREMELY RARE OPPORTUNITY FROM A DESIGNER OF HIS CALIBER. IN FACT, A YOUNG WOMAN CALLS OUT TO US, SAYING, "AM I DREAMING OR IS THAT REALLY RICK OWENS?!" WE CONFIRM AND TELL HER ABOUT AN UPCOMING RETROSPECTIVE. SHE RESPONDS, "WELL, ME, A LITTLE PROVINCIAL, I SAW RICK OWENS, RICK OWENS!" BUT WHO ISN'T A LITTLE PROVINCIAL WHEN FACED WITH THE AMERICAN DESIGNER AS IF FROM ANOTHER PLANET?

ACTIVE FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS AND INDEPENDENT OF ANY FASHION CONGLOMERATE, "RICK" BELONGS TO THE EXCLUSIVE GROUP OF DESIGNERS KNOWN FOR MORE THAN JUST CLOTHING. WITH A STRONG IDENTITY, COMMITTED TO RADICALISM, THE MARGINS, AND THE SPECTACULAR. AT FASHION WEEK, HIS SHOWS ARE UNMISSABLE, DRAMATIC PROCESSIONS OF HYBRID CREATURES (ZOMBIES? DRAGS? VESTALS? ANDROIDS?), AS IF EMERGING FROM A VORTEX THAT BLENDS MYTHOLOGY, SCIENCE FICTION, PEPLUM, GLAM, ROCK, PUNK, SPIRITUALITY, SM, AND KABUKI... A STUNNING, BIZARRE, REBELLIOUS BEAUTY, PERCHED ON HUGE BOOTS, GENDERLESS, EVEN UNSETTLING, WITH PALE FACES, SHAVED HEADS, MASSIVE HAIR OR HOODS, AND MYSTERIOUS, PROFOUND GAZES, PUPILS OBSCURED BY LENSES. HIS COLLECTIONS ALSO CHALLENGE CONVENTIONS. SCULPTURAL GARMENTS WITH STRIKING VOLUMES, CUTS, AND DRAPES, EXAGGERATED BOTH IN MAXI AND MINI SIZES, WHICH CAN ENVELOP THE BODY COMPLETELY OR REVEAL IT DOWN TO THE PENIS. THE GRANDEUR, SOPHISTICATION, AND PRECISION OF HAUTE COUTURE APPLIED TO UNDERGROUND FASHION, ALL SET TO A BASSLINE THAT COULD WAKE THE DEAD. A BOLD STATEMENT.

RICK OWENS' VOICE IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. SILKY, ENVELOPING, ALMOST THERAPEUTIC, COMBINED WITH THE SOPHISTICATION OF AN AMBASSADOR. WE MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH IT, BUT THE CONTRAST STILL SURPRISES US. HE'S USED TO IT. WHEN ASKED, "WHAT MISTAKE DO PEOPLE MAKE MOST OFTEN ABOUT YOU?" RICK OWENS RESPONDS, "ASSUMING I'M GEARED TOWARD PROVOCATION AND AGGRESSION WHEN IN REALITY, IT'S TOWARD CONTRIBUTION. 'DARK,' 'SOMBER' ... IT'S REDUCTIVE. YOU KNOW, I COULD PROPOSE AN AESTHETIC THAT WOULD BE NOTHING BUT CANDY. BUT THEN I WOULDN'T FEEL LIKE IT'S THE WHOLE TRUTH. MY OBJECTIVE IS POETRY, AND POETRY SPEAKS OF THE DIFFICULTIES AND QUESTIONS WE ALL FACE." AT THE PALAIS GALLIERA, HE REPEATS LIKE AN INCANTATION, "THE OBJECTIVE IS POETRY, POETRY."

HE HIMSELF IS, IN OUR EYES, UTTERLY POETIC. A MEDAL-SHAPED PROFILE WITH AN AQUILINE NOSE AND PROMINENT CHEEKBONES, LONG CHARCOAL HAIR, A LEAN, MUSCULAR BODY SHAPED BY THE AUDIENCE, AND AN OVERALL APPEARANCE REMINISCENT OF AN APACHE OR AZTEC CHIEF (HIS MOTHER WAS MEXICAN), BUT DRESSED IN A CAP, VEST, AND LOOSE BLACK SHORTS PAIRED WITH A FROCK COAT AND SNEAKERS WITH XXL SOLES, IN WHICH HE WALKS STRAIGHT, FLUIDLY, SMILING. ALEXANDRE SAMSON, THE CURATOR OF THE STUNNING EXHIBITION, DESCRIBES HIM AS AN INTERLOCUTOR OPEN TO DISCUSSION, SERENE, ENGAGED, AND NOT COMPLICATED — "WHICH IS FAR FROM ALWAYS BEING THE CASE." WE ENVISION A MEDITATOR, A MASTER OF THE PRESENT MOMENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE FASHION INDUSTRY IS CHASING TRENDS. OWENS SMILES. "OH NO, I TEND TO TAKE A NAP EVERY DAY. I THINK I'VE LEARNED TO PROTECT MY ENERGY, WHICH ISN'T INFINITE. IT'S AT 11 A.M. AND 5 P.M. THAT I FEEL THE FRESHEST AND MOST EFFICIENT." THAT SHOWS HE KNOWS HIMSELF VERY WELL. "I TRY. WE'RE ALL TRYING, AREN'T WE?" RICK OWENS DOESN'T APPEAR HIS 63 YEARS, BUT HE HAS THE GENTLE AURA OF A WISE OLD UNIFIER. HIS SHOW NOTES OFTEN REFERENCE CURRENT SOCIAL OR GEOPOLITICAL ISSUES, ACCOMPANIED BY CALMING MESSAGES. THE BED OF AZURE MORNING GLORIES HE INSISTED ON PLANTING IN THE GARDEN OF THE PALAIS GALLIERA, ECHOING THOSE OF HIS CHILDHOOD, ALSO REVEALS HIS SENTIMENTAL SIDE.

IT'S ALSO TRUE THAT NOT EVERYTHING IS FORGOTTEN. RICK OWENS, ESTABLISHED AND RENOWNED, CONSISTENTLY APPEARS AT AIRPORTS IN PLATFORM BOOTS WITH PLEXIGLAS HEELS AND A COMPLETE LOOK TO MATCH. HIS DELIBERATE, STRIKING EFFECT: "FIRSTLY, BECAUSE I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHO I AM AND THAT I BELIEVE IN WHAT I DO, I DON'T OFFER ANYTHING THAT I DON'T WEAR MYSELF. SECONDLY, I WANT TO SHOW LITTLE 11-YEAR-OLD GAYS WHO ARE AFRAID THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE WHOEVER YOU WANT, THAT THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS." HE WAS INITIALLY PREVENTED FROM DOING SO, AS A "VERY SHY, VERY EFFEMINATE, VERY FEARFUL, AND VERY ISOLATED" CHILD IN PORTERVILLE, A PURITANICAL TOWN IN CALIFORNIA. HIS DEVOUT MOTHER, A SCHOOLTEACHER, AND HIS SOCIAL WORKER FATHER DIDN'T UNDERSTAND, BUT THEY WERE LOVING. HIS FATHER, AN EX-GI AND AN AESTHETE, RAISED HIM ON EUROPEAN LITERATURE AND CLASSICAL MUSIC. HE HAD AN EPIPHANY: AGAINST THE GRAIN, JORIS-KARL HUYSMANS' ODE TO DECADENCE. THE INSULTS AND BLOWS FROM BOYS HIS AGE CEASED IN ADOLESCENCE, WHEN THE BULLIED BOY RELEASED HIS PENT-UP RAGE. THIS MARKED THE START OF A FACE-OFF AGAINST THE ORTHODOX NORMS OF THE "STRAIGHT" WORLD, NORMS HE WOULD CHALLENGE THROUGH CLOTHING AFTER CONSIDERING HIMSELF A PAINTER AND EXPLORING VARIOUS SUBSTANCES AND SEXUALITIES.

THE TURNING POINT CAME FROM DIVINE INTERVENTION IN 1987: MICHÈLE LAMY. THIS JURA NATIVE, WITH THE AIR OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA, WITH KOHL-LINED EYES, A CRYPTIC SMILE, AND HENNA TATTOOS, KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT ICONOCLASM. AS A CHILD, THE DAUGHTER OF A GOOD FAMILY FRIGHTENED THE NUNS IN CHARGE OF HER EDUCATION. LATER, IN PARIS, THE WIFE OF A BUSINESS LAWYER, SHE BECAME ONE OF DELEUZE'S DISCIPLES AND BEFRIENDED HÉLÈNE HAZÉRA AND MARIE-FRANCE, PIONEERS OF THE HOMOSEXUAL AND TRANS MOVEMENT, BEFORE HEADING TO LOS ANGELES TO MAKE A SPLASH: OPENING A FASHION BOUTIQUE, LAUNCHING A BRAND, AND LATER TWO RESTAURANT-CLUBS. RICK OWENS JOINED THIS BURST OF CREATIVITY AS A TALENTED PATTERNMAKER. HE STRUGGLED TO UNDERSTAND HER (THAT SHARP FRENCH ACCENT), BUT THE VERSATILE JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES, MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS HIS SENIOR AND MOTHER OF A YOUNG DAUGHTER, FASCINATED HIM. FROM FRIEND, LAMY TRANSFORMED INTO LOVE, WITH A GUIDING INFLUENCE FOR OWENS: QUITTING DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. THEIR MARRIAGE AND THE CREATION OF THE RICK OWENS LABEL SEALED THEIR ALLIANCE OF OUTSIDERS. TEN YEARS LATER, THEY SETTLED IN PARIS, WHERE FASHION WAS RECOGNIZED. THEIR HOUSE, WHICH EVOLVED INTO BRUTALIST DESIGN UNDER MICHÈLE'S LEADERSHIP, HAS OCCUPIED A BUILDING ON PLACE DU PALAIS-BOURBON SINCE 2006 — A FORTRESS-LIKE COCOON JUST A STONE'S THROW FROM THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. OWENS ALSO SPENDS PART OF HIS TIME IN ITALY, MAINTAINING DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE FACTORIES THAT PRODUCE HIS EXCESS.

MICHÈLE LAMY, A BOXER IN CONSTANT MOTION, DISLIKES THE TERM "RETROSPECTIVE" AND ITS CONNOTATIONS OF A CURTAIN CALL. RICK OWENS SMILES AT IT AND ACCEPTS IT FOR WHAT IT IS. "I MIGHT AS WELL PLAY WITH ALL THAT, I LIKE THE THEATRICALITY!" DOES IT ALSO MAKE US LOOK IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR? "YES, AND IT FILLS ME WITH GRATITUDE. EVERYONE WANTS TO BE HEARD, AND AS A DESIGNER I HAVE BEEN, I AM IMMENSELY. GRATITUDE IS HAPPINESS." THESE DAYS, HE'S LEARNING FRENCH, "TO BETTER COMMUNICATE WITH THIS COUNTRY." FROM ANOTHER WORLD, BUT WITH AN OUTSTRETCHED HAND.