Set in a post-apocalyptic Parisian atmosphere, Rick Owen’s would set a sorrowful tone for his Fall Winter 2016 collection. 2015 had been the hottest year on record, glaciers melting, temperatures rising, ecosystems eradicated. For millions of years, humans were simply animals of no significance, struggling to uphold their existence. 100,000 years of being at the top of the food chain reversed the order of nature, checks and balances vanished with our ascent. In the midst of a man-made mass extinction, Owen’s response to his ecological anxiety would be conveyed through a primordial wardrobe that could have been excavated from the Denisovan caves. Backstage, Owen’s alluded to the uncertainty that we face proclaiming that “Mastodons don’ t exist anymore, as we won’t.” Modeled off of Dali’s Swans Reflecting Elephants, tops and bottoms would mirror one another, as models, almost drowning in jumpsuits were used to parallel the legs of a great Mastodon. Sweaters from this collection, held a sense of timeless fragility, relating to a larger geological picture. These garments serve as a testament to the reactionary elements of time that uphold Rick Owen’s designs. 

Written by Leo Hurtado