Rick Owens Mens FW 12

[michael_kard]

Throw in everybody's favourite sneakers, leather jackets with stripes, dress shirts to complete your Rick suit, nothing too dark about it all, these things will please more and more people, which supports the commercialization of the brand.

So you're suggesting that Rick is getting more commercial because his stuff is not as dark.

Also, last time I checked Rick's sunglasses were close to the size of small skillets, and his perfume smelled like mothballs and death.

[kunk75]

Funny, I don't see rick as the most beloved designer on sz by any stretch.

[Dane]

Perfume and accessories are a way for other brands to make money because these things are affordable and can make someone not willing to spend four-figure sums on clothes afford something by this brand. Perfumes bring a large part of some companies profits, why should Rick have different motives when nobody would have thought he would do this stuff some years ago? It depends on what you expect from a designer, where you want him to go if you tolerate this move or don't. I know Rick is still THE designer in this forum, he can make men wear skirts that you wouldn't have thought of, but he is not beyond criticism. For me, the clothes presented on the runway don't balance out that new commercial side at all, they support it. Throw in everybody's favourite sneakers, leather jackets with stripes, dress shirts to complete your Rick suit, nothing too dark about it all, these things will please more and more people, which supports the commercialization of the brand.

Agree with all of this...your everyday Joe who wants a piece of Rick's pie can't justify $1000 sneakers or wearing a dress, so I think it's fair to release a book, perfume, sunglasses, etc.

I can see where Eternal is coming from though...it's hard to accept that a girl at the mall has the same leather jacket as you...but designers only have two choices - to remain stagnant and reclusive a la CCP, or to progress and see where it takes you, all the while (hopefully) maintaining their original vision, like CDG.

Let's all just be glad that LVMH hasn't moved in for a takeover.

[Dane]

Funny, I don't see rick as the most beloved designer on sz by any stretch.

Really?? I do...along with Carol.

[mrbeuys]

...it's hard to accept that a girl at the mall has the same leather jacket as you...

Really? I couldn't care less, it's the same "I knew this band back when they were recording tapes out of a garage in Terre Haute and you can't appreciate them" stuff that I don't buy into. It's not mine alone to own, I can only make it mine with myself added to it. So someone else wearing / listening / smelling the same doesn't make a difference.

[Dane]

Really? I couldn't care less, it's the same "I knew this band back when they were recording tapes out of a garage in Terre Haute and you can't appreciate them" stuff that I don't buy into. It's not mine alone to own, I can only make it mine with myself added to it. So someone else wearing / listening / smelling the same doesn't make a difference.

Ya but you got that jacket because the girl at the mall had it.

[Shucks]

me, i feel comfortable in rick and i think i'll be sticking to that for the forseeable future - so far i'm liking what he proposes. there's the basic rick stuff and then always the stuff that makes people go OMFGWTF. besides, even those dress shirts aren't exactly brooks brothers either...

also, about all this talk about shades/perfume being rick selling out: these are actually VOLUME categories that require a super wide distribution in order to generate any significant profits. so until you see these products in 20 000 doors (opticians, airports, online fragrance-/sunglasses retailers, department stores...), stop hating on it so much. i expect he will make much much less off the scent and eyewear than off the sneaks and leathers.

and now that rick is doing directly operated stores, just like any other brand discovers when doing with DOS, he needs a variety of products to fill them with. it's not just for revenue, but also to create a sufficiently attractive in-store experience for customers. perfume, socks and eyewear help spice up an offer that otherwise would be racks and racks of black leathers, black shorts, black coats and sneaks. also, they generate editorial space, which isn't a bad thing if you aren't advertizing.

besides, afaik, rick has always had the ambition of getting his stuff out there on the street. (not sure about the mall...) it's kinda up to each customer how they wanna wear his stuff i think. if you are just looking for the basics, they're there, but there's for sure a shitload of stuff you'll never see on a girl in the mall. but why would you even go to one??

[theconsumer]

At the very least Rick has a good cover story: to corrupt fashion and consumer items from within. I think it's not just a cover-up story.

[Lane]

I think someone said it best when they mentioned he probably is just going to keep DRKSHDW at his usual bit, and explore more with the mainline. Sneakers and leathers will be there because those are primarily what will stlll allow him to stand out if he keeps making jill sanderish collections.

This "exploration" into the formal side seems like another way of saying I'm selling out. I know this sounds juvenile, but that's all I can say about fw12, I don't get how everyones excited about this, seems like people just want to accept it.

DRRK, hit the nail on the head I feel because everything just seems tamer, and more so with an attention to capture a wider audience.

I mean some of these leathers even have a different vibe from the older ones. Like the recent snakeskin rider has a totally different feel to it compared to say a bauhaus or berger, and I feel that is a conscious decision to depart from the old, but I feel its in a negative way for the brand image.

I just no longer feel that these recent collections invigorate me with the passion I felt when I first discovered rick. He was always about something these last few collections I feel lack. Rick owens to me has always been Crust, creatch, and strutter.

[theconsumer]

To me, his last collection was more tumorous than tame. And he couldn't go more extreme with all those skirts and man dresses in his last summer one.

So I find it hard to understand the premonitions of taming and selling out. About that snakeskin everyone is talking about: he's been doing snakeskin jackets for a long time, although not in mens line.

[Lane]

This has just become too fashiony for lack of a better word for me to describe rick, now. I liked that he always wanted his garments to be wearable, but his bold creations still didn't lack loudness regardless of this goal.

The darkness and anger is gone. I miss the all out aggression presented by his clothing, I like a little elegance infused in there but this is way too much, cmon.


I mean who is he designing for now? The same guy who bought rick combats and blistered leathers I find it hard to believe he'd go for one of these dresses or preppy looking tops/bottoms.

[couturehomme]

I mean who is he designing for now? The same guy who bought rick combats and blistered leathers I find it hard to believe he'd go for one of these dresses or preppy looking tops/bottoms.

This.

I mean. Really, who the hell is this for? Certainly not him and certainly not for his current fan base.

[mrbeuys]

For me.

[michael_kard]

Count me in as well. I think this is one of his best collections.

[theconsumer]

Rick has always been more about camp [1] than darkness, and very open about that as well. If you read the interview, latest collection rather makes sense. Not saying I like it or even appreciate it, but it's consistent with his story.

[1] adj. being so extreme that it has an amusing and perversely sophisticated appeal.