Rick Owens is a designer every real woman needs to become familiar with, whether you are into fashion or not. And whether you will buy his clothes or not. It’s because of what he represents and how he is changing the conversation of female body representation on one of the world’s biggest fashion runways.
At Paris Fashion Week in 2013 he replaced the stock standard uber thin models with a group of urban step dancers from New York who not only dressed in his clothes, but danced across the runway totally owning the space in a new, innovative way. That show went viral!
Well not one to be just a distant memory of something awesome, Rick Owens decided to own Paris Fashion Week once again and prove his message wasn’t just a one off.
This year the American designer based in the City of Lights decided to cast a whole group of diverse women to traverse the runway during his show, which included older women as well as younger professional models. Bravo. Putting these women alongside each other shows that it can be done and hopefully one day won’t be such an anomaly or taboo in the industry.
The LA Times labeled his show “another call for female empowerment”, which echoes the importance of his casting choice. Some say his clothes are too expensive, and that it was just a stunt for publicity. But 2 out of 2 shows at PFW can’t just be a coincidence. We’d like to take a positive perspective and see that he is trying to be out of the ordinary.
It’s still an anomaly to be portraying “normal” women on the catwalks of the world, but perhaps Rick’s choice shows that all it takes is one, or a few, to influence others in the industry and create either a trickle up or trickle down effect. Whichever happens first.
Here’s to men and women in the fashion industry setting themselves apart by being diverse, inclusive and listening to what real people want to see. That right there is a reason to become a fashionista, to support the change makers and trend setters who are willing to set new standards.
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