Rick Owens - SS13 - Mens - Paris

[HWith]

I thought the paneled shorts looked great in the show, but seeing them on LvR I don't really know what to think. Also, the pricing seems to be all over the place. What's up with the knitted *cotton* leg warmers being so ridiculously expensive? And those clogs costing as much as the bigger boots? And then there's the leather jackets which all seem to cost less than USD 1,800...

[kunk75]

made fresh in moldova

[stemcell]

The legwarmers are cheap and just marked up cause runway, same thing with all of the jewelry/nose rings that Givenchy has been doing.... sigh don't crucify me for that comparison. The legwarms should have had 10% cashmere or something to give them some hint of niceness... ANN WOULD HAVE PUT A HINT OF CASHMERE.

[several_girls]

I thought the paneled shorts looked great in the show, but seeing them on LvR I don't really know what to think. Also, the pricing seems to be all over the place. What's up with the knitted *cotton* leg warmers being so ridiculously expensive? And those clogs costing as much as the bigger boots? And then there's the leather jackets which all seem to cost less than USD 1,800...

Well as far as the leg warmers go it's just sheer branding/exclusivity. Same goes for the clogs: it's about supply/demand, not anything to do with the inherent properties of the materials or labor. Rick has a monopoly on the design of the clogs, he could charge anything he wants for them. And as for the leather jackets, I imagine this pre-order pricing is probably less than what we'll see come January (Feb?).

Plus, I'm never sure on this forum if it's lost on people that the clientele for this merchandise is fabulously wealthy. People like Lenny Kravitz, John Mayer, J Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio are buying this stuff at retail. Us petit bourgeoisie wait 5 or 6 months to buy. What's not clear to me is which market is primary and which secondary. I'd love to see charts of sales and revenue over time.

[byhand]

Can't wait to see the bizarre riffs of other designers doing leg warmers. Gareth Pugh will follow the lead of his master with long-haired goat leg warmers by winter. Who will be the first designer to break $1000 retail for leg warmers?

Love to see Bieber in Rick clogs and leg warmers skipping around a stage singing to tweens.

[HWith]

Well, if the cotton leg warmers cost aboust $500 and there's a full cashmere version made also (someone else mentioned it) it should easily be $1000.

Several Girls: I do get your point, but I'm not sure you're right. While what you say may be true for brands like Hermés, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tom Ford etc., I don't think it also applies to Rick Owens the same way. It may do when it comes to more generic stuff like his sneakers and leather jackets, but I can't fathom too many rappers/Hollywood stars or wealthy investment bankers running to the nearest RO flagship and buying a skirt/dress, leg warmers and clogs - do you know what I mean? The clientelle for this stuff is pretty small, I'd say 15-25 year old skinny fashion zealots (victims??) - and they don't tend to have that much cash to spend. Patroklous mentioned in another thread that the clogs would probably end up 80% off in most stores, and I think he's right.

Also, I know the pricing is not linked directly to production costs etc., but there seems to be a 'perceived cost' from the costumers point of view. If an item that appears to be cheaper/smaller/less expensive to make costs as much or more than 'bigger' item, said item will be perceived as (too) expensive.

[Patroklus]

rick's biggest customer probably isn't celebs, it's just superwealthy die hards - people that are probably minor celebrities in their own field, and a lot of wealthy people in the fashion industry. and most of them are probably ladies.

i mean biebs is gettin mentioned but i've only seen him in some tanks and shit, doesn't seem like he's bought very much into rick so it's not like rick's hurtin for his business

RO flagship and buying a skirt/dress, leg warmers and clogs - do you know what I mean? The clientelle for this stuff is pretty small, I'd say 15-25 year old skinny fashion zealots (victims??) - and they don't tend to have that much cash to spend.

nah, i don't agree with this at all. for starters i suspect his womenswear moves in much higher volumes but even then the cray ass menswear stuff definitely has a market among older people. freaks don't age out of being freaky by choice and i doubt rick's die hard customers find themselves in positions where they're forced into a suit or something.

i aint wealthy enough to be a huge rick customer but fwiw i certainly don't see myself bein like, "nah time to stop wearan skirts" or ever getting a job where some cunt wants to tell me to leave the sweats at home. if anything my clothes are probably gonna get crayer and crayer until i reach a radness singularity and zero-sum from existence.

[Faust]

/\ Totally agree. Also the bourgeoisie bought into Rick big time. In NYC I constantly see expensive women in Rick leather + Chanel bag + tights + riding boots. It's become sort of a rich bitch uniform.

[Dane]

I have no clue who his clientele is, but I know they're buying...even the crazy stuff. A pair of the men's wedges on one of the online shops went pretty fast when the price dropped a bit....and the big sizes too. Here I was expecting every size to be left when they went 70% off.

All I know is, people always have more money than I think. Or at the very least, are spending money they don't have. Not sure where they're wearing the fun stuff...I'm hoping to find out one day so I can go.

[Patroklus]

All I know is, people always have more money than I think. Or at the very least, are spending money they don't have. Not sure where they're wearing the fun stuff...I'm hoping to find out one day so I can go.

it can be hard to imagine it but $1.5k aint much to some people, even fo shoes
think about how much you spend on clothes in year, figure out how much of a % of your income that is, then add a zero onto your income and consider that some peeps r a lot wealthier than that

[byhand]

Not sure where they're wearing the fun stuff...I'm hoping to find out one day so I can go.

I spotted a guy at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC wearing the towering Rick wedges. He was getting more attention than the Caravaggio he was parked in front of and looked like he had skipped a few meals... maybe to afford his wardrobe.

[kunk75]

i honestly think most of his male clientele are creatives or rent boys. I agree, I see women 50-70 in rick fur and leather all the time but have never seen a normal dude 35-45 in rick. (yes, I am including myself and beueys in here).

[Patroklus]

I spotted a guy at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC wearing the towering Rick wedges. He was getting more attention than the Caravaggio he was parked in front of and looked like he had skipped a few meals... maybe to afford his wardrobe.

the angle on the 5" wedges is beautiful, so no surprise that the museum patrons were suitably impressed.

one time i tooled up into the getty in full rick and stood really still between two sculptures and people were walking by and seriously considering me like i was installation art


aha jk i made that up could you imagine tho???

[Dane]

i honestly think most of his male clientele are creatives or rent boys. I agree, I see women 50-70 in rick fur and leather all the time but have never seen a normal dude 35-45 in rick. (yes, I am including myself and beueys in here).

I'll be one of those dudes soon.

...look at me thinkin I'm "normal" lolz

[avout]

/\ Totally agree. Also the bourgeoisie bought into Rick big time. In NYC I constantly see expensive women in Rick leather + Chanel bag + tights + riding boots. It's become sort of a rich bitch uniform.

That was always kind of the idea though, no?

I wanted to corrupt conformity from within by translating extreme silhouettes into a gentle gray that could quietly be part of every day. I do see hints of that happening around, but find it hard to believe that it worked. I think it was going to happen anyway, but maybe I did help.