Photo: Imaxtree
Once the Rick Owens show rolls around, you know you're about to see something unlike anything else you saw thus far during the four fashion weeks. The designer's Fall 2022 collection, shown in Paris Thursday, was no exception — although there was something about it that felt of-the-moment (thanks to goth-leaning celebs like Julia Fox and Ye perhaps?), while also completely removed from any specific time or space. With his retro-futurist sensibility, Owens has always had a knack for this.
The show had models walking solemnly encircled in clouds of smoke, giving the whole thing a cinematic, otherworldly feel — especially as they came out in a group for the finale like an army of well-dressed apocalypse survivors. Many were swathed in protective outerwear: long wool coats topped with cozy stoles; armor-like vests and jackets with football player-esque shoulder pads or life jacket-esque inflation; elegant capes with a "Lord of the Rings" vibe; puffer-coat capes with exaggerated sleeves trailing on the floor; futuristic coats adorned with tufts of fur. Platform boots, hitting above the knee if not higher, also have a shield-like feel.
Owens' beloved camel-alien shoulders feature prominently in the collection, as well as his signature extra-long, curve-hugging skirts. Similarly proportioned, ingeniously draped evening gowns, done in iridescent muted colors, are the highlights of the show — a stunning blend of hard and soft elements. Here's hoping someone's brave enough to wear one on the red carpet this awards season, though they would also work as wardrobe for some post-apocalyptic queen in a movie. (Zendaya in "Dune 2," perhaps?)
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See every look from the collection in the gallery below.
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