LEMONDE.FR — RICK OWENS, FASHION DESIGNER: I LOVE BEAUTY WHEN IT HAS A PATINA THAT TELLS THE STORY OF LIFE’S STRUGGLES — JUNE 28, 2025 — By ELVIRE VON BARDELEBEN

KNOWN FOR HIS TASTE FOR PROVOCATION, THE AMERICAN DESIGNER TOOK CREATIVE CONTROL OF HIS OWN RETROSPECTIVE, NOW SHOWING AT THE PALAIS GALLIERA IN PARIS THROUGH JANUARY 2026. A CONVERSATION WITH A SIXTY-SOMETHING “MORE FIRED UP THAN EVER.”

FASHION EXHIBITIONS DEDICATED TO LIVING DESIGNERS ARE RARE. FEW HAVE BUILT A BODY OF WORK STRONG ENOUGH TO CONVINCE CURATORS THEY BELONG IN A MUSEUM WITHOUT THE PASSAGE OF TIME. BUT RICK OWENS IS AN EXCEPTION. HONORED NOW AT THE PALAIS GALLIERA—THE CITY OF PARIS’S FASHION MUSEUM—THE 63-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN DESIGNER HAS TAKEN AN UNCONVENTIONAL PATH. AFTER A CHALLENGING START IN 1990S LOS ANGELES, HE FOUND HIS FOOTING IN PARIS, WHERE HE SETTLED IN 2003. HIS NAMESAKE LABEL HAS REMAINED PROUDLY INDEPENDENT.

BEFORE STRIKING OUT ON HIS OWN, OWENS STUDIED INDUSTRIAL PATTERN-MAKING AND WORKED AS A TECHNICIAN FOR COUNTERFEIT LUXURY MANUFACTURERS—EXPERIENCE THAT GAVE HIM TAILORING SKILLS NOT COMMONLY FOUND AMONG CONTEMPORARY DESIGNERS. HIS INTRICATELY STRUCTURED GARMENTS DRAW ON THE GLAMOUR OF THE 1930S, FILTERED THROUGH UNDERGROUND SUBCULTURES AND THE PEOPLE HE’S SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH. THROUGH OFTEN-PROVOCATIVE RUNWAY SHOWS, OWENS CELEBRATES THE BATTERED BEAUTY OF DRIFTERS, JUNKIES, AND TRANSGENDER SEX WORKERS.

THIS SINGULAR VISION, ONE HE HAS NEVER STRAYED FROM IN OVER 30 YEARS, IS WHAT CONVINCED ALEXANDRE SAMSON, HEAD OF CONTEMPORARY FASHION AT GALLIERA AND CURATOR OF RICK OWENS: TEMPLE OF LOVE, TO OPEN THE MUSEUM’S DOORS TO HIM AND ENTRUST HIM WITH FULL ARTISTIC DIRECTION OF THE EXHIBITION. WE MET WITH THE DESIGNER ON-SITE.



HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SEE YOUR WORK ENTER A MUSEUM?

AND I’M NOT EVEN DEAD! ISN’T THAT FANTASTIC? THE PALAIS GALLIERA IS WHERE I SAW SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FASHION EXHIBITIONS—ON MARIANO FORTUNY, THE COUNTESS GREFFULHE... BEING DISPLAYED HERE FEELS LIKE THE PEAK OF MY CAREER. MY WIFE, MICHÈLE [LAMY], KEEPS TELLING ME I SHOULD STOP CALLING IT A “RETROSPECTIVE” BECAUSE THAT SUGGESTS AN INEVITABLE DECLINE. AND SHE’S RIGHT—BUT I FIND A KIND OF MORBID COMFORT IN THAT. SOME DESIGNERS CREATE A SUGAR-COATED WORLD. THAT’S NOT MY STYLE. I LOVE BEAUTY WHEN IT HAS A PATINA THAT TELLS THE STORY OF LIFE’S STRUGGLES.



WHAT DID YOU WANT TO EXPRESS WITH THIS EXHIBITION?

I ALREADY HAD A RETROSPECTIVE IN MILAN IN 2018, WHICH I FULLY DIRECTED—IT WAS SPECTACULAR. I TOLD MYSELF THAT IF I EVER DID IT AGAIN, I’D WANT IT TO BE SOFTER, TO REFLECT ON BEGINNINGS, VULNERABILITY, TECHNIQUE, AND THE PASSAGE OF TIME. THAT WORKED OUT WELL BECAUSE THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT ALEXANDRE [SAMSON] ALSO WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT.



DO YOU FEEL YOUR WORK IS SOMETIMES REDUCED TO ITS EXCESSES?

THAT’S DEFINITELY WHAT I’M KNOWN FOR, BUT I THINK PEOPLE MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO SEE OTHER SIDES OF MY WORK. THE LARGE SPACE AT THE PALAIS DE TOKYO, WHERE I’VE EXHIBITED FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS, ENCOURAGES ME TO GO BIG. I ENJOY TAKING SIMPLE ELEMENTS—FLOWER PETALS, SMOKE, WATER—AND AMPLIFYING THEM. I PREFER LIGHTING FIREWORKS AND BLASTING MUSIC OVER CREATING A SET THAT NEEDS TO BE DECONSTRUCTED.



THE SHOW DEMONSTRATES HOW YOUR SILHOUETTES HAVE BECOME MORE VOLUMINOUS OVER TIME…

YES, AND EVEN MORE UNAPOLOGETIC. BUT IN STORES, YOU’LL FIND EVERYTHING: THEATRICAL RUNWAY PIECES, AS WELL AS CASHMERE SWEATERS AND BASIC TEES—SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, FROM GRANDMOTHERS TO SKATEBOARDERS. IT REFLECTS HOW I DRESS, TOO. [ON THIS DAY, OWENS WEARS DISCREET BLACK SHORTS AND A T-SHIRT, PAIRED WITH STRIKING LEATHER BOOTS WITH PLEXIGLAS HEELS.] IT’S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO SHOW THAT I BELIEVE IN WHAT I CREATE. THAT MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, SOME EFFEMINATE KID OUT THERE WHO FEELS LOST WILL SEE ME AND THINK, “SO IT’S POSSIBLE TO EMBRACE THE WEIRDO INSIDE ME.”



WHY DID YOU DESIGN THE FIRST EXHIBITION ROOM AT GALLIERA TO RESEMBLE A CHAPEL?

I WAS INSPIRED BY AN EDWARD STEICHEN PHOTO FROM A 1937 OPERA (THE ETERNAL ROAD, BY FRANZ WERFEL, STAGED IN NEW YORK). I’VE ALWAYS LOVED ART DECO AND THE IMAGERY OF THE 1920S AND ’30S—THAT’S WHAT FILLED THE SHELVES IN MY FAMILY’S LIBRARY. THAT, ALONG WITH BOOKS ABOUT SILENT FILMS MY FATHER HAD SEEN WHEN HE WAS YOUNG. HE WAS A TOUGH MAN—RACIST AND HOMOPHOBIC—BUT HE LOVED ART. I GREW UP IN PORTERVILLE, CALIFORNIA, A DEEPLY CONSERVATIVE, GLOOMY SMALL TOWN. THOSE BOOKS SHAPED MY TASTE.



WHY DID YOU ARRANGE THE SILHOUETTES IN A SEMICIRCLE IN THE SECOND ROOM?

WHEN I FIRST SAW THAT LARGE GALLERY AND ALEXANDRE TOLD ME WE COULD OPEN THE CURTAINS, I SAW THE OPPORTUNITY TO ARRANGE ALL THE LOOKS IN A WIDE ARC, FACING THE SUNLIGHT. TYPICALLY, DARKNESS IS NEEDED TO PROTECT GARMENTS, BUT SINCE THESE LOOKS COME FROM MY PERSONAL ARCHIVE, I CAN AFFORD TO LET THEM FADE. MAYBE THE PATINA WILL MAKE THEM EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL.



WHAT’S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR ARCHIVES?

WHEN I FIRST STARTED OUT, I NEVER IMAGINED ARCHIVING ANYTHING—I WAS JUST FOCUSED ON SURVIVAL. IF I COULD SELL SOMETHING, I DID. THAT’S HOW I PAID THE RENT. I’M NOT LIKE TODAY’S FASHION STUDENTS, WHO START ARCHIVING THEIR WORK BEFORE THEY EVEN GET INTO THE INDUSTRY! ONLY RECENTLY HAVE I BEGUN SAVING PIECES, NOW THAT I HAVE THE MEANS. BUT HONESTLY, I’M TOO MUCH OF A CYNIC TO WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE. IF I’M NOT AROUND ANYMORE, WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THE CONDITION OF MY CLOTHES?



DO YOU SEE YOURSELF STOPPING ANYTIME SOON?

NOT AT ALL—I’M MORE FIRED UP THAN EVER! ONE OF MY MAIN MOTIVATIONS IS TO PUSH BACK AGAINST MORAL JUDGMENT—AGAINST PEOPLE WHO TRY TO POLICE HOW OTHERS LIVE. AND RIGHT NOW, THAT CONSERVATIVE WAVE IS STRONGER THAN EVER... THAT’S WHAT MY STATUE OF MYSELF URINATING IS ABOUT [DISPLAYED IN THE SECTION DEVOTED TO PROVOCATION]—A PRIMITIVE, CHILDISH GESTURE THAT SAYS I DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT DECORUM. IT’S SOMETHING ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND.