Palais Galliera Announces Major Retrospective Rick Owens, Temple of Love

by Anna Barr

Fascinated by the sacred, inspired by the underground, Temple of Love marks Palais Galliera‘s first exhibition in Paris devoted to the work of avant-garde fashion designer and cult figure Rick Owens, one of the most innovative and significant fashion designers of our day. The magnitude and breadth of this exhibition, is sure to delight both loyal fans throughout the world and others who have never seen it before.

Titled “Rick Owens, Temple of Love,” the exhibition explores his earliest days in Los Angeles since finding his label in 1994, after leaving Otis College of Art and Design, to his most recent works along with his personal archives, and sources of inspiration including those of his wife and muse Michèle Lamy in addition to a reconstruction of their famous Californian bedroom. From a small, trendy shop in Los Angeles to the enormous, highly acclaimed collections at Paris Fashion Week, where he has been presenting since 2003, the American designer has paved his own path. By using surprising materials, larger shoulders and feet, architectural silhouettes, and the metamorphosis of the shape into humanoid creatures, he has established a strong identity.

His provocative works, which are fascinated by spiritual ritual, are influenced by a variety of sources, including the famous Hollywood films of the early 20th century, Joris-Karl Huysmans, and modern and contemporary art. The exhibition’s artistic director, Rick Owens, has collaborated with the Palais Galliera’s curators to develop an exhibition with over 100 silhouettes and a trail that stretches to the museum’s grounds and façade opposite the Palais de Tokyo where many of his shows have been staged over the years. The building’s statuary will be covered with sequined embroidered cloth, and thirty brutalist cement sculptures made just for the event will be placed in the garden, reflecting Rick Owens’ furniture designs. A floral parterre on the ground will showcase the Los Angeles flower varieties that the designer favors. The show thus takes on a new structure, transforming the museum into a shrine where Rick Owens’ concepts will be absorbed by all who visit.