Anyway, we’re talking about the master of darkness, so there are no loud colours or ornamented skulls; instead, he has presented Tecuatl, a collection with a social focus whose name is a homage to his mother’s Mixteca surname, and that also boasts collaborations with Veja, a vegan shoe brand, or United Farm Workers Association. But also with artist Thomas Houseago, whose sculpture and clay (which he transported from Los Angeles) in Palais de Tokyo’s patio have witnessed the show.
RICK OWENS S/S 2020, THE ABSTRACT EXPLORATION OF HIS MEXICAN ROOTS
Mexico is a country that has inspired and continues to inspire creatives of all cultural fields. One of the latest ones to pay tribute is fashion designer Rick Owens, of North American and Mexican heritage, who has decided to explore his roots in his latest Spring/Summer 2020 collection.
“I was raised in Southern California by an Anglo father and a native Mexican mother. My mother and I learned English together when she started taking me to nursery school”, states Owens in the press release. Also, his father worked as a translator in the Porterville Public Court System, where he helped immigrant workers. “I’ve been motivated to explore my personal Mexicanness as a reaction to the U.S President’s fixation on a border wall”, he says.
The reaction to Trump’s conservatism and intolerance has been translated into t-shirts with the UFWA logo –and Aztec eagle–, whose profit will go to the association; garments with gold sequins, as a homage to the folkloric China Poblana skirts that peasants wore in Puebla; and in a presentation where four Mexican musicians have played along the song Acceleration, by Lavascar (the band composed of Michèle Lamy –Owens’ wife–, Scarlett Rouge and Nico Vascellari), with ceremonial Aztec dance and music, and lyrics in the Aztec Nahuatl language.
But he has not only touched Mexico, as he has continued to explore his own universe. For example, with the shoes: from wide perspex-heeled boots to strap sandals that follow his architectonic line, as well as hiking sneakers in collaboration with Veja, an ethical and sustainable brand of vegan shoes. He has also collaborated with Champion, that have let him adapt the logo in white, black and grey, particularly characteristic of Owens, and along with them, he has created togas and loincloths, but also a capsule collection of t-shirts, windbreakers, and hoodies.
The rest of the collection is characterised for combining practicality with a more sophisticated touch: a lot of workwear –boiler suits full of zippers, cargo trousers with macro pockets, etc.–, combined with long, tailored blazers with shoulder pads, leather and double-breasted jackets, and parkas, palazzo trousers and extremely short shorts and shirts with plunging v-necklines for a cool summer.
