EXCERPT: RICK OWENS. FALL 2023 READY-TO-WEAR - PARIS FASHION WEEK

 

"...Owens's Fall Ready-to-Wear 2023 collection to date have lost a lot of its sheen and glamour under his gothic banner, despite some of the outfits relating to Owens continued interest in the darker side of the 1970's discothèque, with silver, gold and fluorescent colored dresses and jackets.  The overall styles presented have been dulled down, stripped back into a more rawer decree, with their deeper earthy colors and rustic overtures.  Utilizing black traditionally as the base to Owens's signature label, he has tweaked those blackened tones to reflect, in its difficulty since black absorbs light, the insulated shimmer of his glam styles.   The collection feels like it's in conflict with itself.

Owens does indeed work best in his flirtation with the apocalypse, to be more attuned to its balance of devising the reality of our current global situation.  Seen in the many collections on and before 2021, the dire reality humanity is facing after the 2020 pandemic, that like so many times in history, has very much changed society for the worst.   We didn't come out wiser, nor have we coped with any learnt resilience, and this can be seen with the state of the world three years after the 2020 viral outbreak.  A new cold war, inflation, social discord and severe climate changes.   And it appears Owens's Fall 2023 collection is reflecting the general affliction facing us all..."

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Full review: chiasmusmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/03/rick-owens-fall-2023-ready-to-wear.html?m=1

(A.Glass 2023)