Wright Auction

Born in California, Rick Owens is a groundbreaking and award-winning American fashion designer and artist known for his avant-garde aesthetic and profound influence on contemporary fashion and design. Often referred to as the "Prince of Darkness" due to his monochromatic palette and gothic sensibilities, Owens has built a world that merges brutalist minimalism with romantic rebellion.

Owens studied art at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles before dropping out and studying pattern-making at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. In 1994, he launched his eponymous fashion label from Hollywood Boulevard, drawing early inspiration from both classical drapery and punk subcultures. His signature look — a blend of draped silhouettes, distressed leathers, and asymmetrical cuts — quickly set him apart from mainstream designers.

His career took a pivotal turn in 2002 when he was appointed director of Parisian fashion house Revillon. That same year, Owens relocated to Paris with his partner and muse, Michèle Lamy, establishing a home base that would shape his global influence. Over the years, the Rick Owens brand expanded to include men's and women's fashion, footwear, accessories, and more recently, fragrance.

Beyond clothing, Owens is also a notable figure in the world of collectible design. In 2005, he began creating a line of furniture that mirrors the stark, imposing qualities of his fashion. The pieces, produced in collaboration with Lamy, feature raw materials such as alabaster, marble, bronze, and petrified wood. His furniture designs are architectural in nature, often drawing on modernist and brutalist traditions while remaining deeply personal — some pieces are even modeled after skeletal structures or primitive altars. Exhibited in galleries around the world, including the MOCA in Los Angeles and the Carpenters Workshop Gallery, his furniture has garnered critical acclaim for blurring the lines between function and fine art.

Rick Owens is more than a fashion designer — he is a cultural force who operates at the intersection of art, architecture, performance, and design. His work, whether a flowing leather jacket or a monumental bronze chair, is an exploration of beauty through stark contrasts, a meditation on mortality, and a celebration of subversive elegance. His enduring appeal lies not only in his aesthetics but in his unwavering commitment to a personal and uncompromising vision.