Over the last three decades, Rick Owens has built a universe with its own fashion vernacular—a world where high fashion meets dystopia and rebellion is the ultimate form of self-expression. Known for his architectural silhouettes, sculptural draping, and near-religious devoutness to black, the California-born “Lord of Darkness” has transformed avant-garde wear from an underground subculture into a universally desired luxury aesthetic.
The Rick Owens look is instantly recognizable: a contrast of glamour and grunge, where platform boots are paired with flowing gowns and asymmetrical skirts, cocoon-like jackets top drop-crotch sweatpants, and skin-tight leather pants are tucked into high-top sneakers. Likewise, the visionary’s Paris Fashion Week runways are as much a showcase of new collections as they are performance art, with models stomping through pink-hued smoke, wading water, or carrying other models on past catwalks.
By defiantly rejecting the beauty conventions of designer fashion in favor of something more subversive and goth, Owens has cultivated a die-hard following for his apocalyptic vision of the sublime. Visually, the brand disciples—self-proclaimed “weirdos” and “outsiders”—are easy to spot, clad in black leather, distressed knits, and exaggerated-shoulder jackets. But their devotion runs deeper than dress; the Owens fandom worships not just the clothes but a shared philosophy of unapologetic individuality when it comes to fashion.
This sentiment was palpable outside the brand’s New York City boutique on Tuesday, where a crowd gathered hours ahead of Owens’ Temple of Love book signing, transforming the sidewalk into a scene that was equal parts spectacle and reverence. As strangers in line became friends, they traded compliments over looks, swapped stories about their most treasured Rick Owens pieces, and reminisced about the collections that first drew them into the world of the Dark Lord.
According to the gospel of Rick Owens, darkness isn’t something to shy away from but to wield as a means of establishing identity. As one passerby remarked while walking past the crowd dressed in mostly black: “I don’t know what these people are lining up for, but this is, for sure, a Rick Owens crowd.”
Ahead, more from Vogue’s night with Rick Owens devotees.
Photographed by Alex Lockett
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