For Fall/Winter 2025-26 at Palais de Tokyo, Rick Owens brought us back to the early days of his label with his collection “Concordians”. Every season, like so many, I anticipate Rick’s show, it provokes a personal time of reflection in me, where I am at the current time in my life. Rick creates a space of reflection. This past week, I felt at a loss. I was deeply saddened by the news of David Lynch’s passing. A friend of mine told me she felt like we lost our creative father. Nine years ago I felt the same when David Bowie left this Earth. When I see and experience creativity, I see their creative children in so many of us. Earlier this week, on Martin Luther King’s Day, I felt a loss of generations of dreamers when Trump was inaugurated. As the models stepped out to Heroes’ by David Bowie mixed by Jeff Judd, I felt a feeling of encouragement, that we can get through this, we just need to work at it and not give up.
Rick Owens always put his collection intentions so eloquently down, here are some of the words behind “Concordians”:
NAMING THIS COLLECTION CONCORDIANS, I WAS THINKING ABOUT MY 22 YEARS OF TRAVELING TO OUR FACTORY IN THIS SMALL INDUSTRIAL ITALIAN TOWN, CONCORDIA. AND NOT JUST ALONE BUT WITH MY TEAM, ALL TRAVELING FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE GLITTERING CITIES – TO LIVE HERE IN A KIND OF STUDIOUS ISOLATION. ALMOST BLEAKNESS. THIS CLOISTERED LIFE SEEMS TO BE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON REACHING FOR SOMETHING WEIRD AND WONDERFUL…
THE 1ST YEAR, I STAYED IN A GRAND SUITE IN THE BAGLIONI HOTEL IN BOLOGNA THAT MY LICENSE AGREEMENT AT THE TIME PAID FOR.
FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS, I SLEPT ON A COUCH IN MY OFFICE IN THE FACTORY TO IMMERSE MYSELF IN THE RHYTHM OF AN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION SCHEDULE THAT WAS NEW TO ME AND THAT I NEEDED TO LEARN TO SURVIVE.
THE NEXT 10 YEARS, I STAYED AT THE CONCORDIA HOTEL THAT HAD JUST BEEN BUILT OVERLOOKING A GAS STATION, IN A NO FRILLS SERIAL KILLER ROOM.
7 YEARS AGO, AN APARTMENT BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE FACTORY AND THAT’S WHERE I HAVE MY CURRENT APARTMENT.
AFTER 20 YEARS OF TRAVELING HERE, I HAVE UPGRADED MY CARRY ON WITH A NEW RIMOWA COLLABORATION CUSTOMIZED WITH A BRONZED EXTERIOR AND FULLY-LINED IN BLACK LEATHER. I ASKED RIMOWA TO GIVE ME THE BRONZE OF A RICHARD SERRA WALL AND, BLESS THEIR HEARTS, THEY DID…………
AND GIVE ME A WEEK OR A MONTH, I CAN FIT EVERYTHING I NEED IN A CARRY ON… I CAN NEED LESS BUT MAKE CHOICES COUNT MORE. I WANT TO DEPEND ON LESS THINGS BUT MAKE THEM AS SUPERNATURAL AS POSSIBLE.
Standout pieces included dracucollared jackets; pants, shirts, and bags cut from bleached large-scaled alligator (responsibly sourced in the U.S.), loosely flared jeans, a reimagined bootcut, a continuation of their bonotto collaboration, along with jackets and coats are cut in British mélange wool felt.
Check out the collection below:
