Rick Owens in Paris – It was fun!

Rick Owens

So I came home relatively early on a Friday night and was rather excited about watching Marvel Agents of SHEILD – no comment please. Instead, I ended up watching the Rick Owens Spring 2014 Womenswear show in Paris. I know already that this is going to be one of the many thousands of blogs that talk about the show but here’s my two cents anyway.

As with many creative pursuits, we often forget that it’s done out of the desire to express oneself. Some do it through painting, some through music, some through theatre and others through clothing. It’s fun, it’s exciting and at times it questions the norm. That’s what is so wonderful about the show. At a time when there is a lot of focus on the negative aspect of fashion after the Bangladesh incidents, transparency issues, cotton production, the issue of models has drifted into the background. The waiflike drones are ubiquitous and anyone doing anything differently is looked upon with a modicum of distrust – why be so contrary, so anti-establishment?  Yet the fact is that many of the brands we know and love are run by massive conglomerates and as such have to behave in a certain way to keep up appearances and maintain shareholder value. Why be interesting when we know what works?

But i really do love the Rick Owens approach. The models are far from the norm and evoke a level of passion that I have not seen on the catwalk in a very long time (makes me sound like I am a seasoned professional). Who doesn’t get tired of the same models walking down the catwalk with that “I don’t want to be here” pout on their face? The fearsome Hakka style dance, the many shapes and sizes and complexions demonstrate how evocative, daring, thrilling and inclusive fashion can and should be. I am not sure if Rick Owens has been involved with the All Walks Beyond the Catwalk team, but they will be thrilled by this – just checked, they are!!

Is he making a statement? Who knows? Maybe he was just as bored of fashion shows as many of us are. Or it may well be us jumping to conclusions about his intentions. What this does show is that creativity and boldness goes a long way and in terms of marketing – well I’m writing about this at 1am on a Friday night. I think it’s done its job.

Fashion is a business; it makes a shed load of money for people with a shed load of money. Let’s not get into mark-ups of certain items but when someone has the guts to really go against the grain and get his creative juices flowing, he should be highly commended.

Thanks Rick Owen – that was fun.

Still smiling.

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