Following his January men’s show where strobe lamp helmets were backed by a song that deliriously, a sobering effect was felt by the fragrance of his Aesop collaboration dispensed through fog machines. Said in his press release, “Upon recent listening, the exclusive remix from Eprom I had planned three months ago felt too harsh and ominous for the current moment, so at last, I substituted with [Gustav] Mahler’s 5th Symphony.” 

“Our current condition” is a meeting point for Owens, a consideration that he took upon himself since the pandemic, and now the conflict Ukraine. How could a designer offer mediation terms for those who feel unsupportive or even helpless by continuing to participate in fashion weeks? Owens offers a conciliation. 

Dusty sequined gowns opened the collection, draped and pluming at shoulder and hip. Cropped jackets over bias-cut skirts appear in various colors, the same peachy oranges that appeared in menswear.  Puffer jackets cut with high slits that dragged like a train exposed collapsing leather gloves, bubble-shaped bombers paired with his Platform Spartan boots. 

While many of the garments seemed to be enveloping, it did not take away from the beauty of the alien-like sinuosity of the silhouettes if the framing of sharp shoulders in the gowns and shearlings did not indicate so. That may be the conciliation of it all: the comfort in always returning to beauty. Rick Owens has no difficulty in executing that.

Watch the full show below: