RICK OWENS

BORN IN PORTERVILLE, CALIFORNIA, RICK OWENS DROPPED OUT OF ART COLLEGE TO ATTEND LOS ANGELES TRADE TECHNICAL COLLEGE, WHERE HE LEARNT PATTERN CUTTING. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 1990S, OWENS STARTED WORKING AS SUCH FOR HIS LATER-TO-BE WIFE, MICHÈLE LAMY, FOR HER SPORTSWEAR LINE, LAMY. AFTER STARTING HIS LABEL IN 1994, HE CAME TO THE ATTENTION OF ANNA WINTOUR AT AMERICAN VOGUE FOLLOWING FRENCH VOGUE’S PUBLICATION OF AN IMAGE OF KATE MOSS WEARING ONE OF HIS SIGNATURE LEATHER JACKETS. SHE ENCOURAGED AMERICAN VOGUE TO SPONSOR HIS FIRST SHOW AT NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FOR SPRING/SUMMER 2002. IT WAS ALSO AT THIS TIME THAT HE STARTED TO WORK WITH CYPRIOT-BORN STYLIST PANOS YIAPANIS RENOWNED FOR HIS FASHION-FORWARD EDITORIALS.

ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING MAJOR INDEPENDENT LABELS HEADQUARTERED IN PARIS, OWENS HAS BEEN BASED THERE SINCE 2003. RICK OWENS IS KNOWN FOR THE USE OF HIGH-QUALITY FABRIC AND GARMENTS WHICH ARE CUT TO MAKE THEM FLOW SEAMLESSLY, EXAGGERATING THE AESTHETIC. HE HAS DEVELOPED A CULT FOLLOWING, BEING PARTICULARLY APPRECIATED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO WANT TO REDEFINE THE NORM AND IS NICKNAMED "THE LORD OF DARKNESS".

ALONG WITH HIS MAINLINE, DRKSHDW PROVIDES A LOWER PRICE ENTRY POINT TO THE BRAND. OWENS HAD A LONG-RUNNING COLLABORATION WITH ADIDAS FROM 2013 TO 2017, WHERE HE CHALLENGED THE CONVENTIONAL SNEAKER DESIGN. IT HAS SINCE BEEN REPLACED WITH COLLABORATIONS WITH HOOD RUBBER AND VEJA. IN 2007, OWENS SHOWED HIS FIRST FURNITURE COLLECTION IN PARIS, WITH EACH PIECE BEING A BOLD MIX OF MATERIAL, TEXTURE, AND FUNCTIONALITY, COMPARABLE TO BEAUTIFUL SCULPTURES AND ART OBJECTS.

IN 2017, OWENS WAS THE CENTER OF AN EXHIBIT ENTITLED “SUBHUMAN INHUMAN SUPERHUMAN” AT THE TRIENNALE DI MILANO, CELEBRATING OVER 20 YEARS OF HIS LIFE’S WORK. HE HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE CFDA TWICE, FIRST WITH THE PERRY ELLIS AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT IN 2002 AFTER HIS DEBUT CATWALK SHOW IN NEW YORK AND THEN IN 2017 WITH THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. HE HAS BEEN AWARDED THE COOPER-HEWITT DESIGN AWARD FOR FASHION DESIGN AND THE FASHION GROUP INTERNATIONAL RULE BREAKER AWARD. CELEBRITY FANS INCLUDE KANYE WEST, MICHELLE OBAMA, A$AP ROCKY, JUSTIN BIEBER, AND JADEN SMITH.