EXCERPT: RICK OWENS. WOMEN'S FALL 2024 - PARIS FASHION WEEK

"...And in this past to present spectrum, the Owens story is more relevant now as a visual statement of his uncompromising creativity, that one has to admire.  And this is where a clue is offered, to why he is so inwardly drawn by the more darker influences which represent his current styles.  In very much the same vein as the men's Fall 2024 showing, in which his collection showcased a compressed and protective overlay.  The insulated and padded looks, as aesthetics do offer that escape from the turmoil of life, or in Owens dynamicism, a perspective of what could be another world.  A better place than the one we currently all residing in, although not perfect.  It is at least a possible alternative.  Are we willing to explore?

Yet, his Fall collections, for both the men's and women's arrays do not seem like an overt exploration, in the sense of looking outward for a better future.  As mentioned in numerous fashion reviews to date, as we head towards our 11th hour, there doesn't seem to be any counterculture on the horizon.  Where our society is now so entrenched with the hyperreal through the digital relays, that it seems almost unreal that the Superpowers are talking about nuclear war and a genocide, by Israel, is taking place, backed by the West.  All the while one by one, Governments are shifting further to the extreme Right of politics.   So, I would agree.  Why explore outwardly?  When you might as well shut it all off and look inward.   Fashion can assist in this process, not as a rebellion, but a rejection of its normalization..."

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 Full review: chiasmusmagazine.blogspot.com/2024/03/rick-owens-womens-fall-2024-paris.html  

(A.Glass 2024)