To say that shoes were not the center of attention at the Rick Owens runway show in an understatement. The designer had his models bare all — literally.
The strategically placed holes in the designer’s ready-to-wear provided a full-frontal view — and tons of buzz. The shoes, including black-and-tan sneakers with white trim and slouch details up to the knees, took a back seat. It’s safe to speculate that front-row spectators’ eyes were focused at a level higher than the footwear.
Owens, who also created buzz at NYFW by using real people on the runway and featuring a choreographed step dance, cited the image of a sphinx as one of his inspirations for Paris. The designer told WWD: “When I see a sphinx, I’m thinking of a moment of suspense — they are glamorous, exotic and mysterious, but I also think of a vessel…. It’s about men being together in closed quarters having to maintain a sense of decorum under intense pressure, and when that happens, their best comes out, and their worst comes out. A sense of order and a sense of honor can be enhanced, but then everything can fall apart and become primal.”
For more (and less revealing) men’s runway looks, check out FN’s top picks from London Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week.
