Rick Owns’ (Rare) Positivism and HIS DADIST ROOTS
By: Deborah (Dee) Kwong
A figure walks down a spiral staircase into a concrete warehouse at an irregular pace. Spectators are lined in rows, watching. A second figure follows and then another. Some faces are painted pure white, leaving us only the absence of expression. Other figures have matted hair obscuring their faces. Their eyes barely peek through.
Here, Rick Owens, an avant-garde fashion designer, presents his Fall Winter 2017 fashion show: GLITTER. Inflated swaths of fabric wrap around the body's joints, trapping the wearer like protective armor. Owens focuses less on his work's appropriateness and more on his piece's sculptural essence. Owens remolds the human body to his idea of beauty. “I love standards of beauty, but I also admit I react against the narrowness of it sometimes. I embrace it and tease it,” Owens says in a Business of Fashion interview. Bulbous spheres replace shoulder pads, like hidden tumors waiting to emerge from their cocoons. Comically large pockets protrude out of hanging pants and leather jackets. Knit sleeves are extended to the point of impracticability. Owens renames our arms as “long wands.” Owens's pieces are borderline unwearable if we measure them using the usual fashion standards. As the DaDas pushed the boundaries of art, Owens redefines what we determine as wearable.
GLITTER is a “contemporary ceremony” in Owens' words. Owens brings the audience into his world and methodology. Often, these ceremonies are in response to the world—a constant reaction. Like the DaDa philosophy of continual becoming, best measured in the continuous unfolding of events, runway shows constantly evolve. There is no beginning and end, as they only cease to exist once the designer stops working. Rituals and ceremonies have dated back to when men lived in caves. Rituals were akin to performances in the past as they were not casually done. They lived in tension between reality and a heightened form of our world. For Owens, ceremonies are “[G]roups agreeing on codes of behavior and collectively committing to them.” Historically, civilizations performed rituals to pray for prosperity and protection, and Owens’ Fall Winter 2017 show was a response to turbulent times. 2017 was a rough year. Recap: the inauguration of a new president, rising political tensions, numerous natural disasters, mass shootings, etc. Ceremonies bring groups of people together who share the same values. We begin to embrace what makes us civilized as our personal behavior codes become heightened. In this state, we now decide to trust our civilization or find no meaning in our actions.
GLITTER is a departure from such nihilism. Owens’ positivism contrasts his previous work, but he felt it was necessary. “I might have summarized that sense of doom with the last few shows, but now it’s time to move on,” Owens said. The colors are softer, seen in deep olive greens and light greys. Blacks remain a dominant color, typical for an Owens show—stiff canvas capes, similar to the Dadaist Hugo Ball. A few models continue to walk by, arms removed and all. Sculptural headpieces evoke tribal tones. Owens’ sentiments are similar to those of his predecessors in ritual making, Dadaists, and Futurists. Except he’s a bit more optimistic (barely).