Luxor, Egypt served as the inspiration behind Rick Owens’ fall winter 2023 collection, which debuted on Thursday in Paris.
The cast of models came down the elevated runway in updated versions of Owens’ Strobe pull-on platform boots in various colorways and materials — some even taking a new animal-like shape. This style is characterized by its standout 4-inch transparent heel, thick front painted platform and grilled bevel toe, secured with silver rivets.
In his show notes, the designer wrote how Luxor has become his winter retreat, just as Venice, Italy has become his summer retreat. Owens goes on to write that he is also inspired by director Cecil B. DeMille and his movie “The Ten Commandments,” which the designer says he watches nightly with music from Brutalismus 3000 pumping through his earphones.
What resulted is a collection about “reduced architectural shapes with a whiff of sleazy seventies pseudo-mysticism,” Owens said. There are plenty of sharp shoulders and high, tight waists that flare to the ankle in a nearly Victorian way.
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The designer was also sure to call out eco-conscious pieces in the collection as well. This could be seen in a flight jacket made in nylon from GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified recycled polyamide and dyed using a specialized technique that allows ecological natural pigments to be used on synthetic fibers. Black is dyed with bamboo charcoal while green is achieved using olive waste.
Tailoring pieces were made in a compact mohair broken twill woven on 1950s vintage shuttle looms exclusively for the brand by Bonotto, a 4th generation textile mill founded in 1912, while outerwear and jumpsuits in heavyweight moleskins are woven in Lombardy, Italy using GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton.
Further, the collection’s denim midi A-line skirts and spike-shouldered shirts were made using ZDHC certified products and utilizes a water purifying process that enables them to recycle a large portion of the water used.
What’s more, Rick Owens continues to use waxy and soft Pirarucu fish skins. By recycling these giant skins, indigenous communities in Brazil are able to receive a significant income from something that would normally be discarded, Owens noted. The skins are tanned in Brazil through a low-impact tanning process and finished in Italy.
And, seemingly acknowledging the war in Ukraine, Owens ended his show notes stating that there is a “bitterness” to creating a collection during a war. “[It’s] a desire to contribute our somber best in an industry that must remain stalwart, but with a sense of frustration that nothing is enough,” Owens said.
