Rick Owens’ latest collection entitled “Babel” is centered around the theme of chaos and creation. The show, set amongst ornate statues and industrial beams at the Palais de Tokyo opened with a profusion of colored smoke bombs set off to create an atmosphere that was equally as dramatic as the clothes.
The first looks Owens sent out were a series of white sleeveless tops paired with black wide-leg pants, each featuring various cut-outs with elements of deconstructionism. His silhouettes seemed to evolve into more architectural styles as the show went on, with an exaggerated masculinity and brutal minimalist aesthetic. Each look became more layered than the previous, while others bared more skin. Shirtless models wearing low-slung, loose fitting shorts with apron style garments wrapped around the body and bumbags bags strapped to the waist walked the runway, while others wore hardcore fringed masks that shrouded their entire face styled with high-rise break away pants.
For the second half of the show geometric cutouts and brutalist architectural silhouettes were prominent. They included floor sweeping capes and elongated parkas or anoraks draped on top of countless other layers. Rick Owens also sells the frames that can be inserted into each garment to transform the jackets into a sort of “wearable art” for dramatic effect. The frames create a unique geometric inspired shape with a goth-edge central to Rick Owens overall gothic-meets-sci-fi vibe.
Owens also incorporated a brown and white striped print as a counterpart to the organic shapes and negative space found in many of his looks. The many artistic, wearable pieces include hooded outerwear and drawstring pants for a cool martial-arts effect. Completing many of the looks were his signature molded boots and or Birkenstock sandals, the product of a second collaboration with the renowned footwear brand.
See All the Looks from the Collection
