For Spring/Summer ’18, Rick Owens gave us four words to contemplate:
STOCISM
FERTILITY
FUTURISM
HOPE
Rick Owen’s statement released along with the collection and the full looks follow below.
INSTEAD OF MORBIDLY ROMANTICIZING OUR SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL PERIL, WHICH I HAVE SO GLEEFULLY INDULGED IN IN THE PAST, I FEEL I NEED TO PROPOSE EXPERIMENTAL GRACE AND FORM AS A GESTURE OF TURNING AWAY FROM THREAT; NOT REALLY AS ESCAPISM, BUT AS REJECTION.
TWISTED CURVED AND FLANGED FORMS CIRCLING AROUND THE BODY ARE CONSTRUCTED IN SEVERAL EXCLUSIVELY DEVELOPED FABRICS:
TWILL GAZAR MADE FROM A SILK AND PAPER YARN
A NYLON/COTTON TECHNICAL CANVAS WITH THE SHEEN OF A DUCHESSE
STIFF COTTON SATEEN CANVAS
A CHALKY MATTE RUBBER AND COTTON CANVAS
SHINY LACQUERED CANVAS
METAL MEGA-BUGLE BEADED CANVAS
CANVAS AS A MODEST MATERIAL TO SCULPT AND PAINT ON HAS ALWAYS APPEALED TO ME SINCE ART SCHOOL; CANVAS JUST FEELS LIKE POTENTIAL AND A FRESH START.
AS FAR AS SOME PIECES VEER TOWARDS ABSTRACTION, THEY ALL HAVE INTERIOR ZIPPED COMPARTMENTS WHICH OSTENSIBLY TURN THEM INTO GLORIFIED HANDBAGS. CARGO LEG CHAPS AND FERTILITY BELTS ALSO CREATE SWELLING VOLUMES TO SCRAMBLE FAMILIAR BODY SHAPE.
THIN WHITE COTTON T-SHIRTS ARE STRETCHED OVER THE BODY IN LAYERS OF NECKHOLES AND ARMHOLES TO CREATE A CRUDE AMERICAN’S BRUTALIST INTERPRETATION OF FRENCH CONFECTION.
THE 1908 ITALIAN FUTURIST HEAD BY THAYAHT ON THE INVITATION PORTRAYS THE POET FILIPPO TOMMASO MARINETTI, THE AUTHOR OF THE FUTURIST MANIFESTO. THERE ARE A FEW UNFORTUNATE ATTITUDES IN THIS MANIFESTO REGARDING WOMEN AND BOOK BURNING BUT THAT’S WHAT’S FASCINATING ABOUT RADICAL UTOPIAN MOVEMENTS — THEY START WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS BUT THEN DEGENERATE AND CRUMBLE UNTIL THE NEXT WAVE OF HOPE APPEARS OVER THE HORIZON.
Images courtesy of VALERIO MEZZANOTTI/OWENSCORP
