New for SS21: Rick Owens "PHLEGETHON" Collection

Rick Owens brings his darkly glamourous aesthetic to SS21 with the "Phlegethon" Collection. Initially revealed in the Piazza in front of the Lido Casino, in Venice, the collection dives into the archives bringing together some reinterpretations of classic silhouettes., as well as some new styles and ideas.

As explained by Rick Owens himself in his press notes, "Phlegethon is one of the rivers in the inferno described in Dante's divine comedy, not quite the center of hell but on the way there. Romanticizing doom has always been an adolescent mood but it’s a classic way to confront fear and instability — hope for the best but plan for the worst.

My last fall runway shoulder freak out wasn’t about power, it was about defiance — defiance in the face of threat. Those shoulders reappear in this spring collection on coats and jackets with the sleeves ripped off, leaving a raw armhole with remnants of white linings as a riot corsage. Black grain de Poudre tailoring is traced with white stitched level lines — single decisive lines to suggest order and reason; and geometric satin ciphers have been inlayed into lapels.

Trapunto shoulder patches are the influence of my Larry LeGaspi research while compiling a book on him released last year. These patches are appliqued in Pergamena leather from Motta Alfredo — the leather used for our first Italian-produced collection 18 years ago.
Most of the leathers used in this collection are double-faced with minimal, unlined construction, including a 0.8mm thick Neapolitan-produced juicy double-faced leather we call double butter.

We did a Neapolitan gelato dégradé print on chiffon and crêpe, extending it to knits. These knits double up, peel up and down like a banana, covering or exposing at will. A group of knits and swimwear has been developed from the membrane T-shirts of the SS18 ‘Dirt’ collection and another knit story of mesh tanks originates from the masks used in FW12 ‘Mountain’.

Jackets and shorts are presented in stretch denim surfaced with paillettes custom made for us from recycled plastic.. Recycled plastic is also used in our shoes and raincoats. There is some debate in our studio whether the use of recycled plastic glorifies using a toxic material that there are other options for — or — finding a way to reuse something that already exists..."

Check out more styles from the Rick Owens Collection at HERVIA.com now.