The Rick Owens Fall/Winter 2025 collection arrives with striking intensity, challenging conventional beauty standards through his signature avant-garde approach. The designer presents blackout contact lenses as his modern equivalent of red lipstick, transforming models into otherworldly beings as they walk the Paris runway.
“Those black contacts are my version of red lipstick. We’ve lived with red lipstick for a really long time. Here’s another option,” Owens explained backstage. Rather than signifying villainy or darkness, these lenses evoke vulnerability-referencing cartoon characters whose pupils dilate when they experience love and openness.
The Fall/Winter 2025 presentation revealed a deliberate shift toward practicality without abandoning Owens’ distinctive aesthetic codes. After seasons of theatrical spectacle, this collection demonstrated restraint while maintaining his unmistakable design language. The audience witnessed handsome leather blousons with dramatic stand-up collars (dubbed “dracucollars” by aficionados), boxy wool coats adorned with industrial straps, and sculptural tops in ruffled rubber that rippled like gills with movement.
Women’s silhouettes closely followed his hit menswear collection from January, creating a unified vision across genders. Ripped skirts with high slits fused denim with textured leather, while oversized bomber jackets paired with leather chaps with multiple straps projected both strength and vulnerability, a duality central to Owens’ creative universe.
Despite their imposing presence, some softer elements emerged: sleeveless shearling coats softened the austerity of the sharp-shouldered jackets beneath, while belted styles in loden cashmere and white leather offered accessibility amidst avant-garde concepts.
The practical inspiration behind Fall/Winter 2025 stems from Owens’ nomadic lifestyle between Paris and his Italian factories. “Packing essentials to live this austere life of creativity in isolation,” he noted, explaining why these garments appear harder and more rugged than previous collections.
True luxury is revealed in unexpected details – bomber jackets lined entirely in leather rather than conventional fabrics, shorts made from laser-cut leather fringes woven together in collaboration with Parisian designer Victor Clavelly. This partnership resulted in remarkable dresses using the same technique, creating garments that exist between the animal and avatar realms.
Owens’ audience includes both ardent followers and fashion professionals who previously considered his work too experimental. This collection successfully bridges both worlds, offering pieces that retain his visionary perspective while presenting wearable options for a broader audience.
The designer acknowledges this deliberate balance: “After those last shows that were so exaggerated – which were fun and valid – I thought I can take a minute to remind people that I mean it,” Owens confessed. “It’s a constant, trying to keep that balance: of shock and wonder, but you can’t let people dismiss you as just being out of the question.”
What’s coming out of Fall/Winter 2025 proves that Rick Owens understands fashion’s current moment-to offer artistic integrity alongside commercial viability. His hoodies, made from thin strips of natural rubber placed on the bias, exemplify this approach-transforming fashion’s most ubiquitous garment into something extraordinary through material innovation.
The blackout contact lenses may remain a challenging proposition for everyday wear, but they perfectly encapsulate Owens’ philosophy: beauty found through embracing otherness and alien qualities. When asked about trying them on during a photo shoot (with his teeth painted black), Owens admitted: “I looked horrible, but it was kind of great.”
©Photo: Rick Owens