Rick Owens Fall 2020 Ready-to-Wear - Paris Fashion Week.

Images from the designer and the public domain. Credited to the photographer/company where applicable: Gorunway.com)

Rick Owens in light of my review of his Fall 2020 menswear show, has scaled down and smoothed out the flair of his more recent Paris Fashion Week showings, playing on with the continued theme of popular culture retrospection, more so the late costume designer Larry LeGaspi, to which Owens has exhausted the concept in his over continuance and homage to the 1970s designer, since conceptualizing those styles for his Fall 2019 men's show over a year ago.  Yet, it is the mirroring of his Women's Fall March 2019 collection which appears to have been the main influence for Owens's current simplified and visually minimalistic cues.  As discussed in my Fall (men's) review of Owens's last collection, it feels like stagnation is creeping in an/or a peak of creativity has been reached.  Which is not a critique as such, but an observation that a designer with such a stature as Owens may have topped out his idea list, thus backlogging his previous collections for inspiration.  It works to a point, but at the ire of repetition, the mundane can set in, which is the tune of predictability.  

Although a critique, in my opinion, which does hold merit when viewing both the men's and women's Fall 2020 collections is an obvious duplication of concepts, with the same looks being used for both separate shows.  My assumption was, that there was no men's collection, rather just the stylization for a female showcase in relation to the latest Fall Ready-to-Wear shows.  It seems plausible, as this latest collection appears better fitted and arranged than the men's show in January this year – which almost, style for style, is the same collection.  I am speculating, but only in observation. 

However, Owens's latest women's looks are less than impressive than previous seasons, as mentioned, he may have peaked out with ideas, but in comparison to the Fall 2019 showing, which was stunningly created, this new array has fallen very flat.  There is a sloppy and rushed feel to the styles on display, with the platform thigh high boots carry the whole collection, literally, over the line.  The clothes have come secondary, which is a shame.  Yes, the concept that Owens has toyed with for over a year has become repetitive, there could have been at least a focus to draw in a newer inspiration. 

And early 1980s synthesizer music may not be it.