SS23 EDFU PRODUCT GUIDE
SS23 EDFU MEN’S
THURSDAY 23 JUNE 2022, 12H30
PALAIS DE TOKYO, 13 AVENUE DU PRÉSIDENT WILSON, 75116 PARIS
THIS SEASON’S COLLECTION IS NAMED ‘EDFU’ AFTER THE EGYPTIAN TEMPLE.
I HAD RECENTLY RETREATED TO EGYPT WHERE I FOUND GREAT COMFORT IN THE REMOTENESS AND SCALE OF ITS HISTORY. MY PERSONAL CONCERNS AND GLOBAL DISCOMFORTS FELT PETTY IN THE FACE OF THAT KIND OF TIMELESSNESS. LYING DOWN IN THE DIRT WITH THE VALLEY OF KINGS WITHIN VIEW WAS A PERSPECTIVE I LIKED. THE TEMPLES, STARTED BY ONE CIVILIZATION, SEIZED AND ADDED ONTO BY ANOTHER, COMPLETED BY ANOTHER AND THEN UNEARTHED BY YET ANOTHER, WERE REASSURING IN THEIR STOIC PERMANENCE.
WE HAVE ALL BEEN SO DISTURBED BY THE WAR AND CONSTANT ONLINE STONE THROWING, I WANTED TO PROPOSE SOME ORDER AND DISCIPLINE… I USED SOME RIPSTOP NYLONS THAT HAD A BUTTERFLY WING LIGHTNESS WITH GRAPH-LIKE CONSTRUCTIONS THAT LENT SUBTLE SOOTHING GRIDDING ON THE BODY IN DYNEEMA, WHICH IS A PATENTED FIBER CONSIDERED TO BE THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD.
I REDUCED HARDWARE AND VISIBLE CLOSURES TO KEEP THINGS QUIET. I WANTED SIMPLICITY BUT I STILL WANTED EXAGGERATED SHAPES TO GENTLY TEASE ALL THE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND BIGOTRY THAT CREATE SO MUCH CONFLICT IN THE WORLD.
TAILORING WITH EXTREME SHOULDERS COMES IN CRISP COTTON OR LAYERS OF SILK CHIFFON, SOME IN LOUD AND FOGGY PLAIDS. COATS AND JACKETS ALSO COME IN CHIFFON SUSPENDED FROM RIGID MESH SHEER SHOULDERS. THE TRANSPARENCY CONTINUES WITH JACKETS, SHIRTS, AND JEANS CONSTRUCTED IN APPARITION LEATHER – A COW LEATHER USING GLYCERIN DURING THE TANNING PROCESS AND AIR DRYING WITHOUT BEING DRUMMED WHICH GIVES IT A TRANSPARENT FINISH.
MY BODYSUITS AND SHIRTS HAVE GOTTEN BIGGER THAN EVER AND THE SILHOUETTES ARE EITHER TIGHTLY CINCHED OR LARGE AND RELEASED TO FLOAT AS FAR AWAY FROM THE BODY AS A GARMENT CAN.
SKINTIGHT TOPS COME IN LEATHER OR SHEER VISCOSE, SOME WITH SHARP ARM-EXTENDING SHOULDERS. LAST SEASON’S BANANA KNITS (ABSTRACTED MUTANT MULTIPLE ARMHOLE SWEATERS) ARE REDUCED TO RIB TANK VERSIONS, SOME REDUCED TO JUST THE BINDING THAT FINISHES THE EDGES.
MY EGYPTIAN SOJOURN LED ME TO DEVISING TULLE FLYPROOF ROBES WITH FACE COVERING HOODS WORN OVER SILK CHARMEUSE SHIRTS TWISTING AROUND THE HIPS AND TRAILING ON THE FLOOR, PROVIDING SLASHES OF SLITHERING COLOR.
COLORS ARE DELIBERATELY KITSCH AND LOUD WITH DENIMS LACQUERED IN AN IRIDESCENT SCARAB FINISH WHICH ALSO COATS PIRARUCU, A SKIN I USE OVER AND OVER. FISHED AS A FOOD SOURCE BY INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE AMAZON FOREST, THE SKINS ARE THEN SOLD AS A WASTE PRODUCT GENERATING INCOME FOR THEM.
I HAVE DEVELOPED A CAPSULE IN COLLABORATION WITH BONOTTO, A 4TH GENERATION TEXTILE MILL FOUNDED IN 1912 JUST BELOW THE PREALPS IN VENETO, WHICH INCIDENTALLY HAS ONE OF THE LARGEST FLUXUS ART COLLECTIONS IN THE WORLD. ALL THE FABRICS WHICH INCLUDE MINIMALLY FINISHED COTTONS AND RAW WOOLS, ARE WOVEN ON THEIR VINTAGE 1950S LOOMS.
I ASKED PARADOXE, A PARISIAN LABEL DOING ARTISANAL WORK WITH DENIM TO COLLAB ON SOME OF OUR DENIM PIECES. THEY PAINSTAKINGLY UNWEAVE USED AND WASHED DENIM AND THEN REAPPLY TO FINAL GARMENTS IN A PROCESS THAT FEELS AS DEVOTIONAL AND MEDITATIVE AS LACEMAKING IN A CLOISTER.
MUSIC IS A SWOOPING, GRATING, UNHINGED EXCLUSIVE MIX BY EPROM AND SHADES (SHADES IS COMPOSED OF EPROM AND ALIX PEREZ) REFLECTING THE UNTETHERED, WONKY CURRENT CLIMATE.
OUTSIDE OF LUXOR, AT THE TEMPLE OF EDFU, OVER THE MAIN ENTRANCE, IS A CARVING OF A WINGED SUN, SYMBOLIZING THE GOD HORUS WHO REPRESENTS THE TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL. IN TODAY’S PRESENTATION, A BLAZING SUN CROSSES THE SKY, FALLING TO CRASH TO THE GROUND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. SENSELESS DESTRUCTION ON REPEAT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME.
CASTING: AM CASTING (CLM)
HAIR: DUFFY (STREETERS)
MAKEUP: DANIEL SALLSTROM (MA WORLD GROUP)
PRODUCTION: LA MODE EN IMAGES
MUSIC: EXCLUSIVE MIX OF ‘THE CAT’ BY EPROM AND ‘ETERNAL RAIN DESCENDING’ BY SHADES
NAMING A COLLECTION IS KIND OF LIKE AN ASSIGNMENT – A VERY, VERY LOOSE ASSIGNMENT. AT THE START OF EACH COLLECTION, I REDUCE FROM A LIFETIME OF ACCUMULATED IDEAS. NAMING A COLLECTION HELPS ME TO NARROW IT DOWN. –RICK OWENS
SS23 EDFU WOMEN’S
THURSDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2022, 17H30
PALAIS DE TOKYO, 13 AVENUE DU PRÉSIDENT WILSON, 75116 PARIS
THIS SEASONS WOMEN’S SPRING COLLECTION, LIKE THE MEN’S SPRING COLLECTION BEFORE IT, IS NAMED ‘EDFU’ AFTER THE EGYPTIAN TEMPLE ON THE WEST BANK OF THE NILE IN EGYPT.
I HAVE BEEN RETREATING TO EGYPT WHERE I FIND GREAT COMFORT IN THE REMOTENESS AND SCALE OF ITS HISTORY. MY PERSONAL CONCERNS AND GLOBAL DISCOMFORTS FEEL SMALL IN THE FACE OF THAT KIND OF TIMELESSNESS. LYING DOWN IN THE DIRT WITH THE VALLEY OF KINGS WITHIN VIEW IS A VERY SOOTHING PERSPECTIVE. THE TEMPLES STARTED BY ONE CIVILIZATION, SEIZED AND ADDED ONTO BY ANOTHER, COMPLETED BY ANOTHER AND THEN UNEARTHED BY YET ANOTHER ARE REASSURING IN THEIR STOIC PERMANENCE.
IN MY YOUTH, EGYPT HAD ALWAYS BEEN A SETTING OF THE MORALITY STORIES I HAD LEARNED IN CATHOLIC SCHOOL… AND IN THE SILENT MOVIE BOOKS IN MY PARENTS BASEMENT FEATURING CECIL B. DEMILLE’S BIBLICAL EPICS AND MOVIES STARRING THEDA BARA, A CREATURE DRESSED AS AN EXOTIC ANCIENT FEMME FATALE WHO WAS ORIGINALLY BORN THEODOSIA GOODMAN IN CINCINNATI, OHIO.
THESE MOVIES BECAME MY AESTHETIC RECIPE – ANCIENT STORIES ABOUT FAITH AND HIGHER PURPOSE MIXED WITH A CAMP AND LURID EXOTICISM SEEN THROUGH A TURN OF THE CENTURY BLACK AND WHITE ART NOUVEAU FILTER. WITH A DOSE OF SELF INVENTION – THEDA’S FIERCE AND POWERFUL AND FRANKLY ARTIFICIAL SELF THAT UNDERSTOOD AND ACKNOWLEDGED THE LIGHT AND DARKNESS OF REAL LIFE.
CHANNELING THEDA BARA POSING FOR GUSTAVE MOREAU, SINUOUS GOWNS IN TRANSLUCENT LEATHER TURN THE WEARER INTO A 700-MILLION-YEAR-OLD JELLYFISH, GRACEFULLY AND LANGUOROUSLY TRAILING SHEER AND SERPENTINE TRAINS. FULL GRAIN COWHIDES COLLECTED AS A WASTE PRODUCT FROM THE FOOD INDUSTRY ARE TANNED USING ONLY ORGANIC MATERIALS AND NATURAL GLYCERIN THAT FILL THE PORES OF THE LEATHER AND GIVE IT ITS SOFTNESS AND TRANSPARENCY. LIKE WEARING GELATINOUS FRUIT ROLL UPS.
CONTINUING A JELLYFISH SILHOUETTE, BELL-SHAPED FRILLED JKTS STOP AT THE WAIST OR AT THE HIPS OR EXPLODE INTO HUGE MANTLES CONSTRUCTED FROM 200 METERS OF RECYCLED TULLE MADE USING ECONYL, AN ITALIAN YARN MADE FROM RECYCLED WASTE MATERIALS COLLECTED FROM OCEANS AND LANDFILLS.
PEARL, OYSTER AND IVORY GOWNS AND JACKETS IN RIPSTOP NYLONS ALSO. PROVIDE BUTTERFLY WING LIGHTNESS WITH GRAPH LIKE CONSTRUCTIONS THAT LENDS SUBTLE SOOTHING GRIDDING ON THE BODY IN DYNEEMA, WHICH IS A PATENTED FIBER CONSIDERED TO BE THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD.
COMO WOVEN SILK CHARMEUSES AND CHIFFONS ARE CUT INTO GOWNS THAT TWIST AROUND THE HIPS AND TRAIL ON THE FLOOR IN SLASHES OF SLITHERING COLOR… GOWNS ALSO COME IN DENIMS THAT ARE DRAPED AND SLASHED IN FADED OR LACQUERED FINISHES.
COLORS ARE EITHER MILKY NON-COLORS OR STRIDENTLY BRIGHT LIKE YELLOW, PINK OR FUCHSIA – JUBILANTLY LOUD COLORS THAT CAN EQUAL THE POWER OF BLACK.
SHOULDERS ARE EITHER WIDE AND ROUNDED ON SHIELD SHAPED BLOUSONS, OR SHARP AND NARROW ON TEES AND FLIGHT JKTS EXTENDING AND NARROWING AND ELONGATING THE ARMS INTO PARENTHESES FRAMING THE BODY… BY EXAGGERATING OR DISTORTING THE BODY IN SUCH A PRONOUNCED WAY, THE MESSAGE IS A VOTE FOR OTHERNESS – A DEPARTURE FROM TASTEFUL AND PERHAPS NARROW AESTHETIC CONVENTIONS AND MAYBE AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO CONSIDER OPEN MINDEDNESS IN OTHER AREAS OUTSIDE OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE AS WELL.
100% OF OUR COTTON JERSEYS ARE ORGANIC GOTS CERTIFIED COTTON.
90% OF OUR COTTON WOVENS ARE ORGANIC CERTIFIED COTTON.
I AM NOT LISTING OUR EFFORTS IN RECYCLING OUT OF VIRTUOUSNESS, WE DEFINITELY HAVE ROOM TO IMPROVE. BUT I LOVE HAVING THE IDEA THAT EFFORTS IN RESPONSIBILITY AND KINDNESS CAN HELP IN SOME SMALL WAY TO BALANCE OUT FORCES OF AGGRESSION AND WAR.
I DON’T SEE MY SOJOURNS TO EGYPT AS ESCAPISM BUT AS A WAY TO REMIND MYSELF TO LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE – AND TO RELIEVEDLY ADMIRE WHAT SURVIVES AFTER COUNTLESS WARS.
CASTING: AM CASTING (CLM)
HAIR: DUFFY (STREETERS)
MAKEUP: DANIEL SALLSTROM (MA WORLD GROUP)
PRODUCTION: LA MODE EN IMAGES
MUSIC: EXCLUSIVE MIX OF ‘DAZZLE’ BY SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES
WHEN I LOOK AT THIS COLLECTION I SEE A SLITHERING, FEMME-FATALE, THEDA BARA LOOK TO IT. LIKE A BLEACHED VERSION OF THOSE BLACK AND WHITE MOVIES OF 1920S EGYPTIAN CAMP WITH A KIND OF PAUL POIRET EXOTICISM. –RICK OWENS
CECIL B. DEMILLE DID CLEOPATRA WITH CLAUDETTE COLBERT, AND THAT IS THE EPITOME OF CAMP EGYPTIAN EXOTICISM. EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT MOVIE IS SO OUTLANDISH…HER BEING KIDNAPPED AND DRIVEN IN A CHARIOT PAST THE PYRAMIDS….THAT’S THE FAKE, CAMP EGYPT I WAS THINKING A LOT ABOUT. BUT I WAS ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE EGYPT I’VE EXPERIENCED….BEING ON DIRT ROADS LEADING TO VERY SHODDILY MAINTAINED TOMBS OF ANCIENT GREATS. IT DOESN’T FEEL OVERLY-POLISHED THERE, WHICH IS WHAT I HAD EXPECTED. IT FELT SO DIGNIFIED - VAST AND EPIC AND IMPORTANT. –RICK OWENS
CECIL BLOUNT DEMILLE (AUGUST 12, 1881 – JANUARY 21, 1959) WAS AN AMERICAN FILM DIRECTOR, PRODUCER AND ACTOR. BETWEEN 1914 AND 1958, HE MADE 70 FEATURES, BOTH SILENT AND SOUND FILMS. HE IS ACKNOWLEDGED AS A FOUNDING FATHER OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA AND THE MOST COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL PRODUCER-DIRECTOR IN FILM HISTORY. HIS FILMS WERE DISTINGUISHED BY THEIR EPIC SCALE AND BY HIS CINEMATIC SHOWMANSHIP. HIS SILENT FILMS INCLUDED SOCIAL DRAMAS, COMEDIES, WESTERNS, FARCES, MORALITY PLAYS, AND HISTORICAL PAGEANTS. HE WAS AN ACTIVE FREEMASON AND MEMBER OF PRINCE OF ORANGE LODGE #16 IN NEW YORK CITY.
RETRIEVED JANUARY 13, 2023, FROM HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/CECIL_B._DEMILLE
I LIKE THE IDEA OF COMMUNITY – I LIKE THE IDEA OF DESIGNERS BEING FRIENDS. AND I DO APPRECIATE WHAT LUDOVIC DE SAINT SERNIN DOES – IT’S SO PRECISE AND FOCUSED AND KIND OF LIKE HE CREATED THIS NEW PORNO CHIC FOR MEN, A VERY SPECIFIC GAY NICHE THAT IS HEDONISTIC…ELEGANT YET PORNOGRAPHIC –VERY GAY HELMUT NEWTON. I THINK THAT’S A GOOD THING.
ONE TIME, YEARS AGO, THE YOHJI PEOPLE REACHED OUT AND ASKED ME TO WALK IN HIS SHOW…BUT I WAS LESS KNOWN AND I WAS ESTABLISHING MY OWN IDENTITY AND I DIDN’T WANT TO CONFUSE IT WITH SOMEONE ELSE’S – SO NOW WHEN I ASK SOMEONE LIKE SALVIA TO DO SOMETHING IN MY COLLECTION, I UNDERSTAND HER RETICENCE AND SENSITIVITY ABOUT DOING IT, BECAUSE I FELT THAT TOO…BUT IF I WAS ASKED NOW, I WOULD REALLY CONSIDER IT BECAUSE OF COURSE IT WOULD BE AN HONOR…I KNOW WHO I AM NOW AND I DON’T HAVE TO PROVE ANYTHING ANYMORE. –RICK OWENS
EVERY CREATOR – NO MATTER WHAT THEY CREATE – USES A COMPILATION OF THINGS THEY LOVE FROM WHAT THEY’VE SEEN IN THE PAST. AND WHEN YOU MAKE THE RIGHT BLEND OF ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY, THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH OF THE ANCIENT TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL A CONNECTION TO SOMETHING REAL… ENOUGH FAMILIAR TOUCHSTONES THAT PEOPLE CONNECT WITH SO THEY FEEL SECURE, WITH ENOUGH CONTRASTING ELEMENTS TO CREATE A SORT OF NEWNESS. THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU CREATE THINGS – YOU WANT TO CREATE A COMPOSITION THAT PEOPLE CONNECT ENOUGH TO, AND ARE DELIGHTED ENOUGH BY AND SPRURISED ENOUGH BY SO THAT IT REGISTERS. AND IT ONLY REGISTERS IF THERE ARE ENOUGH REFERENCES – VAGUE OR NOT – THAT PEOPLE CAN CONNECT TO. THERE MIGHT BE A FORUMLA TO IT, BUT MAYBE THERE’S NOT! –RICK OWENS
APPARITION LEATHER
APPARITION IS A SEMI-TRANSPARENT LEATHER CREATED BY DUTCH TANNERY ECCO LEATHER, INSPIRED BY ANCIENT PARCHMENT. FULL GRAIN COW HIDES COLLECTED LOCALLY AS A WASTE PRODUCT FROM THE FOOD INDUSTRY ARE TANNED USING ONLY ORGANIC MATERIALS AND NATURAL GLYCERINE THAT FILLS THE PORES OF THE LEATHER AND GIVES IT ITS SOFTNESS AND TRANSPARENCY. THE QUALITY OF EACH SKIN RANGES IN RIGIDITY AND MAY CHANGE WITH HEAT OR MOISTURE AS THE SKIN’S PORES ARE LEFT OPEN, THUS CREATING A SKIN THAT INTERACTS WITH ITS ENVIRONMENT.
THE TEC SHOULDER DETAIL IS VERY MUTANT INSECT BODY – PART OF IT WAS FINDING A NEW WAY TO LENGTHEN THE ARM…THE ORIGINAL RICK OWENS JACKETS WERE LEATHER WITH RIBBED INSERTS THAT WERE LONG ON THE HAND, SO ANYONE WHO WORE IT WAS TREATED TO A VERY GRACEFUL ARM. WE BEAT THAT DEAD HORSE TO THE GROUND, SO THIS WAS A NEW WAY OF OFFERING THE SAME GRACEFULLNESS, BUT IN A MORE DISTORTED, GROTESQUE WAY. IT WAS JUST ANOHTER WAY OF MAKING THAT SKINNY LINE ON EACH SIDE OF THE BODY.
THERE’S SOMETHING ALIEN ABOUT IT THAT IS PLEASING – I’VE REALLY BEEN ENJOYING THE NEW PUNK AESTHETIC THAT SALVIA AND FECAL MATTER ARE DEVELOPING. IT’S ONE OF THE FIRST AESTHETIC MOVEMENTS THAT I’VE SEEN FOR A LONG TIME – STYLE WISE – THAT HAS EXCITED ME. WHAT COMES AFTER PUNK, NEW WAVE, GOTH, ETC? MUTANT! AND THAT’S WHAT THOSE ARTISTS WERE DOING. THE TEC SHOULDER IS SORT OF A BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS OUR ORIGINAL JACKET TO THE MUTANT AESTHETIC, IN AN ART DECO SHAPE. THAT KIND OF FIGURE WITH A LONG BIAS GOWN THAT CREATES A SINEWOUS LINE THAT LENGTHENS YOU. IT’S AUBREY BEARDSLEY. –RICK OWENS
THIS COLLECTION IS AS APOCALYPTIC AS EVER. WHEN EACH GARMENT ENDS UP IN A STORE, IT TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY. THERE ARE SO MANY LAYERS. THE RUNWAY SHOW WAS KIND OF APOCALYPTIC – THEY ALWAYS TEND TO BE…BECAUSE IF YOU’RE GOING TO DO A SHOW THERE HAS TO BE A CERTAIN FEROCITY TO IT TO MAKE IT WORTH GOING TO. EVEN OUR MILDEST SHOWS HAVE THAT FEROCITY. BUT A SHIRT IN GRAPHEEN – THE GRAPHIC RIPSTOP – IN A SOFT COLOR WITH GENTLE, BUT DECIDEDLY GEOMETRIC LINES GOING THROUGH IT…I THINK THERE IS A SEARCH FOR ORDER IN A CHAOTIC WORLD IN THAT PARTICULAR GARMENT. THERE HAS TO BE RAGE THOUGH, BECAUSE IF IT’S JUST ME TRYING TO FIND MYSELF A NICE PLACE TO NAP THEN IT’S KIND OF MISSING SOMETHING, ISN’T IT? –RICK OWENS
LAND ARTIST MICHAEL HEIZERS CITY, 2019
I LOVE A GRAND GESTURE - A VERY PRIMAL, PRIMITIVE GRAND GESTURE THAT’S ALSO SOMETHING STUPID AND SIMPLE. THAT’S WHY I LIKE FOG MACHINES – THEY BRING SUCH A DUMB, SIMPLE, CHEAP GRAND GESTURE. AND WHEN SOMETHING IS REDUCED AND SIMPLIFIED AND BIG AND DRAMATIC - I REALLY LIKE THAT… THAT MIGHT BE A REACTION TO PETTINESS – THERE WAS A LOT OF PETTINESS WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, SO THAT WHOLE PURITANICAL MORALISTIC ATTITUDE – THAT FUSSINESS – IT’S A REACTION TO THAT. BIG DRAMATIC GESTURES IN BIG, GRAND, EMPTY SPACES. –RICK OWENS
IT’S SOMETHING FROM NOTHING, BUT ALSO MAN’S FUTAL BUT POIGNANT ATTEMPT TO LEAVE HIS MARK… LITERALLY, PHYSICALLY WRESTLING HIS ENVIRONMENT – THE ATTEMPT TO MOVE A MOUNTAIN. IT’S ALMOST A CHARACATURE OF MASCULINE EGO - FORCING YOUR MARK INTO THE WORLD AROUND YOU. –RICK OWENS
WHEN I THINK OF FASHION I THINK OF THE GLAMOUR OF HELMUT BERGER, THE SLEAZE OF PETER BERLIN, AND THE MINIMAL EXTRAVAGANCE OF JEAN MICHEL FRANCK WHO SUPPOSEDLY HAD A CLOSET FILLED WITH 40 IDENTICAL GREY FLANNEL SUITS... -RICK OWENS
HAROLDS SPEECH FROM BOYS IN THE BAND. 1970
CAMP IS AN EXCUSE FOR CYNICAL PEOPLE TO INDULGE IN EMOTION - YOU GET TO GIGGLE AT IT, BUT ALSO EXPERIENCE IT AT THE SAME TIME. –RICK OWENS
I’M FROM PORTERVILLE AND I TURNED MYSELF INTO THIS, WHICH IS ALL ARTIFICE. I HAD GREY CURLY HAIR , BUCKED TEETH, AND A DIFFERENT KIND OF BODY, AND I CHANGED ALL OF IT, CREATING AN ATMOSPHERE AROUND ME THAT’S ROOTED IN EXOTICISM. I AM THEDA BARA. –RICK OWENS
JACK FREULICH, FOX FILM, PUBLIC DOMAIN, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
THEDA BARA (BORN THEODOSIA BURR GOODMAN; JULY 29, 1885 – APRIL 7, 1955) WAS AN AMERICAN SILENT FILM AND STAGE ACTRESS. BARA WAS ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR ACTRESSES OF THE SILENT ERA AND ONE OF CINEMA'S EARLY SEX SYMBOLS. HER FEMME FATALE ROLES EARNED HER THE NICKNAME "THE VAMP" (SHORT FOR VAMPIRE, HERE MEANING A SEDUCTIVE WOMAN), LATER FUELING THE RISING POPULARITY IN "VAMP" ROLES BASED IN EXOTICISM AND SEXUAL DOMINATION. THE STUDIOS PROMOTED A FICTITIOUS PERSONA FOR BARA AS AN EGYPTIAN-BORN WOMAN INTERESTED IN THE OCCULT. BARA MADE MORE THAN 40 FILMS BETWEEN 1914 AND 1926, BUT MOST ARE NOW LOST, HAVING PERISHED IN THE 1937 FOX VAULT FIRE. AFTER HER MARRIAGE TO CHARLES BRABIN IN 1921, SHE MADE TWO MORE FEATURE FILMS AND THEN RETIRED FROM ACTING IN 1926; SHE NEVER APPEARED IN A SOUND FILM.
AND MOM IS IN THIS COLLECTION – WHEN SHE WAS STAYING IN THE EXCELSIOR THIS SUMMER, I HAD A THOUGHT THAT SHE NEEDED SOME SUPER GLAMOROUS CHIFFON BEDCLOTHES. SO I DID THESE LITTLE JACKETS THAT BLOOM OUT INTO FLARES OF RUFFLES – I MADE THEM LONGER FOR OUR RUNWAY SHOW, BUT FOR MOM THE INTENTION WAS TO KEEP THEM CROPPED SO THAT WHEN SHE WAS IN BED IT’D BE A WHOLE RUFFLE THING IN COLORS SHE LOVED. –RICK OWENS
THERE’S ALWAYS MELANCHOLY IN MY COLLECTIONS. MELANCHOLY IS A RATIONAL PERCEPTION OF THE WAY LIFE REALLY IS. INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CREATE A DISNEYLAND FANTASY, WE ALWAYS GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A GIMLET EYE. WE SEE THE FLAWS AS WELL AS THE FANTASY.
THERE’S ALWAYS BEEN A KIND OF GRIT IN WHAT WE DO THAT EMBRACES THE SPECTRUM OF THE EXPERIENCE OF LIVING – THE GOOD AND THE BAD. WE DON’T DO DISNEYLAND FANTASY PRINCESSES. WE DO SOMETHING THAT HAS SOME PATINA AND DECAY AND A REALISTIC ACCEPTANCE OF HARDSHIPS. EVERY COLLECTION WE’VE DONE HAS HAD A LITTLE TINGE OF MELANCHOLY – IN THE CLOTHES WE MAKE, THERE’S A RESERVE – A GRAVITAS.
I’M MELANCHOLIC – THAT’S JUST KIND OF MY CHARACTER. MY DEFAULT SETTING IS A BLEND OF MELANCHOLY AND SUSPICION. THE ADVICE THAT MY DAD TAUGHT ME THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY MOTTO IS ”HOPE FOR THE BEST BUT PLAN FOR THE WORST.” BUT I AM CAUTIOUS, BECAUSE VEERING TOO FAR INTO MELANCHOLY CAN QUICKLY TURN INTO ADOLESCENT SELF-PITY, AND I DON’T WANT TO GET TRAPPED IN SELF-INDULGENCE. –RICK OWENS
I ENJOY DOING COLLABORATIONS BECAUSE IT ALLOWS OUR COMPANY AND AN ESTABLISHED COMPANY TO BOTH EXPLORE NEW WAYS OF BEING SUSTAINABLE WITH OUR LITTLE PROJECT. I LIKE TO THINK THAT OUR COLLABORATIONS CAN INFLUENCE LARGER, MORE ESTABLISHED COMPANIES TO EXPLORE SUSTAINABILITY IN WAYS THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEFORE. –RICK OWENS
“I HAVE KNOWN RON ATHEY SINCE THE 1980S WHEN OUR PATHS WOULD CROSS IN THE LTHIEST L.A. CLUBS I COULD
ND. RON WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CREATURE I HAD EVER SEEN, AND I AM AFRAID I WAS QUITE SMITTEN. HE BECAME A GOGO BOY AT CLUB FUCK, WHICH ATTRACTED THE HARDCORE PIERCING TECHNO SUBCULTURE THAT WAS STARTING TO EMERGE THEN, AND EVENTUALLY, HIS DANCING DEVELOPED INTO ACTIONS WHICH BECAME THE PERFORMANCE ARTWORK FOR WHICH HE IS KNOWN TODAY.
THESE WORKS WERE CREATED DURING THE AIDS CRISIS WHEN ARTISTS WERE DEALING WITH THAT MOMENT OF DESPAIR WITH PHYSICAL DEMONSTRATIONS OF RAGE. THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL OF HIS WORKS WAS HIS PRINTING PRESS PERFORMANCE, DURING WHICH HE CUT SYMBOLS INTO HIS FRIEND’S BACK, PRESSED PAPER TOWELS TO THEM, AND CLIPPED THE BLOOD PRINTS TO A PULLEY SYSTEM THAT HOISTED THEM OVERHEAD IN THE PERFORMANCE SPACE. ALTHOUGH MINIMALLY SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, THIS PERFORMANCE BECAME PART OF THE POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND CONTROVERSY REGARDING WHICH ARTWORKS WERE SUITABLE FOR PUBLIC FUNDING.
HIS WORK SPEAKS TO THE ETERNAL PRIMITIVE IN ALL OF US AND TO OUR SHARED HUMAN EXPERIENCES - FEAR, SHAME, SEXUALITY, MORTALITY, AND FAITH - IN A TIMELESS TRADITION OF BLOOD RITUALS, FROM THE DRAMA OF HUMAN SACRI CE ON MAYAN ALTARS TO A MESSIAH ON A CROSS TO CHILDBIRTH TO BLOOD TESTS TO OUR CURRENT WAR...
I ASKED RON TO REPRESENT THIS DR. MARTENS COLLAB AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW ELEGANTLY REAL TRANSGRESSION - AND OUR INDIVIDUAL SEARCHES FOR TRANSCENDENCE - CAN BE.”
“OVER 10 YEARS AGO, I WAS FRUSTRATED THAT THERE WASN'T A SLEAZY DANCE CLUB WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FROM MY HOUSE IN THE 7TH ARRONDISSEMENT OF PARIS SO I DECIDED TO START ONE MYSELF. I REACHED OUT TO BIG FREEDIA TO COME PERFORM BECAUSE I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW ENERGY AND ATTITUDE I HEARD COMING FROM THE NEW ORLEANS BOUNCE SCENE...NOW, 10 YEARS LATER I HAVE ASKED HIM TO REPRESENT MY COLLAB WITH CONVERSE TO CELEBRATE HIS ENDURING POWER AND FEROCITY IN AN ALL TOO OFTEN NARROW AND JUDGEMENTAL WORLD..." - RICK OWENS