Rick Owens set out to break some considerable boundaries this season because, and let’s be honest, that is his job isn’t it? Starting off with some respectably chic double breasted leather jacketed ensembles the daredevil designer then soon started treading more scandalous territory by introducing male dresses that didn’t leave much to the imagination at all. Cue the fleshy glimpses of the thigh that scaled just as high as the eyebrows that were no doubt rising at the show and the furore that is now going to escalate in the fashion media.
These were outspoken designs though and that was their real strength. There is always something so exciting when a designer confronts his audience with some so overt and by exposing so much of the male form with his strategic designs Owens was really saying something about just how comfortable we have become as a consumer. As avant-garde as the winged manila-envelope looking creations in fact were, they were also one of the best talking points of the day. There is no doubt about that whatsoever.
If you go to a Rick Owens show seeking out sophisticated tailoring you are barking up the wrong tree, but for those of you who need some of that balance, the more progressive takes on modern menswear should be for you so simply rejoice in that.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Style.com