By CATHY HORYN
The great points of the day were Rick Owens and Comme des Garcons. The opening looks were tailored, monochromatic and spare, with cropped pants and a shoulder line that looked as straight and strong as an industrial beam.
Many times an Owens’ show feels like a journey of self-realization: the American who brought his dark, singular aesthetic to Paris and seemingly discovered it there. His latest collection flowed like a skillful narrative.
Mr. Owens showed to the audience and invite us to see: extraordinary coats in leather, shearling, corduroy, padded wool (or maybe it was cotton) and fur—or, in a number of the coats, a combination of two or three of these materials. The coats were at once rough and elegant, especially those belted above the waist, and the main consideration seemed to be to create a magical silhouette from these common materials and then engineer it to perfection. And that’s just what Mr. Owens did. You might never expect him to design an ordinary parka or trench coat—leave that to Burberry or Louis Vuitton.
Many times an Owens’ show feels like a journey of self-realization: the American who brought his dark, singular aesthetic to Paris and seemingly discovered it there. His latest collection flowed like a skillful narrative.
Mr. Owens showed to the audience and invite us to see: extraordinary coats in leather, shearling, corduroy, padded wool (or maybe it was cotton) and fur—or, in a number of the coats, a combination of two or three of these materials. The coats were at once rough and elegant, especially those belted above the waist, and the main consideration seemed to be to create a magical silhouette from these common materials and then engineer it to perfection. And that’s just what Mr. Owens did. You might never expect him to design an ordinary parka or trench coat—leave that to Burberry or Louis Vuitton.
