“Dark Lord” Pays Homage to Ancient Egypt
Rick Owens’ SS23 collection allows the audience to enjoy the clothes we have now while admiring what has survived in the past.
Written by Tarun Vedula, Contributing Writer
Rick Owens did not disappoint at this year’s Paris Fashion Week with his 2023 Women's Ready-to-Wear collection, EDFU. Named after an Egyptian temple on the West bank of the Nile, EDFU is heavily inspired by Owens’ recent retreats to Egypt, as well as the country’s place in vintage silent films starring Theda Bara (Owens, 2022). Recognized as one of cinema’s earliest silent sex icons, Bara is exactly the type of woman you’d expect to see walking in one of Owens’ shows.
Owens stuck to his roots with the show taking place at the Palais de Tokyo, an exhibition space familiar to Owens, whose last few shows took place in the art center. In the middle of the room lies an enormous fountain jetting water 50-plus feet into the air, spraying those fortunate enough to get front row seats to the experience. Owens’ fragrance collaboration with Aesop wafted through the air as an extraordinary rendition of the shoegaze classic, “Dazzle” by Siouxsie and the Banshees, began the show. In signature fashion, the show contained four fog machines in each corner of the runway which billowed out smoke, creating an eccentric entrance for the models (Owens, 2022).
Owens played around with various materials in this collection, using mediums like econyl, an Italian yarn made from recycled waste, for his billowing gowns and tanned, full-grain cowhide treated with glycerin, for the more translucent pieces. Owens wrote in the show notes, “like wearing gelatinous fruit roll ups,” referring to the cowhide (Owens, 2022). Functionality was also something Owens considered, with many of his gowns and jackets being made out of ripstop Nylon, a light material that allows for grid-like patterns using Dyneema, an extremely strong fiber.
One of the most prominent themes of the show was Owens' variety of shoulder cuts. No stranger to unique sizing and proportions, Owens stayed true to his brand with a flat, round and horned cut that he hoped would encourage more open-mindedness when it came to personal appearance (Owens, 2022). Owens also played with sizing, ranging from heavily cropped jackets that sit just above the waist to exaggeratedly long gowns that explode outwards at the hip.
Although Owens' use of color was to be expected following his SS23 Men's Ready-to-Wear collection that was unveiled earlier this year, he still managed to impress us with the use of bright colors and complimenting materials. A house synonymous with mostly neutral and monochromatic colors, Rick Owens has never been the most vibrant designer. However, EDFU has broken that expectation. Bright pinks, yellows and greens work with textured materials that bring out the hidden potential in a color palette to equal the power of black (Owens, 2022).
Owens paid tribute to his famous Kiss Heels with every model sporting some variation of the pair. The five-inch heel elevated the tall models to tower above the audience as they made their way around the runway. The collection displayed new variations of the heels, including a fuschia pink colorway and one adorned with spiraling fur patterns.
Similar to the rest of his shows, Owens’ clothes did all of the talking during their debut. Donning hardly any makeup on themselves, the models slicked their hair back to draw the viewers’ attention to the outfits. By not using standard celebrities in his shows, Owens encourages his audience to focus on the pieces of clothing rather than the models themselves.
The show concluded with the “dark lord” himself making an appearance. Dressed in all black, the designer’s look was practically a reminder of EDFU’s message itself. As Owens puts it, “I don’t see my sojourns to Egypt as escapism but as a way to remind myself to look at the big picture,” (Owens 2022). Owens’ style choice doesn’t seem too different from his normal, but maybe that was on purpose. It’s about the bigger picture, after all.
EDFU may just be another collection in Owens’ vast portfolio, but its variety of colors, materials and sizing allows the audience to enjoy the clothes we have now and admire what has survived from the past.
Sources:
Rick Owens. (2022, September 30). RICK OWENS SS23 EDFU. [Video]. YouTube.