When you think of Paris Fashion Week, arguably the industry’s most prestigious event, you don’t really think of a small industrial town in northern Italy, with a population of just over 10,000 people – but leave it to Rick Owens to shift our perception of what’s considered fashion week-worthy. Just like the men’s show back in January, Concordia Sagittaria was the source of inspiration for Rick’s latest collection Concordians, as the designer reminisced on his time spent in that tiny Italian village. “I was thinking about my 22 years of travelling to our factory in this small industrial Italian town, and not just alone but with my team, all traveling from their respective glittering cities,” the designer wrote in the show’s notes. “This cloistered life seems to be what it takes to be able to focus on reaching for something weird and wonderful.”
From the leather chaps to Chappell Roan, here’s everything you missed from Rick’s latest show.
Fresh from an appearance at Julien Dosenna’s Rabanne runway earlier today, pop sensation Chappell Roan stopped by the Palais de Tokyo for this afternoon’s event – and by our count, this is her first ever Rick Owens show. The US musician chimed in the occasion with some fresh, pointillist-style make-up, razor-sharp leather boots and one of the most recognisable Rick silhouettes – the Prong dress – which quickly became an It-girl fave back in 2024.
Sitting alongside Chappell was Bryn Taubensee and Patric DiCaprio from cult label Vaquera – fresh from their own show, where they announced they were leaving New York behind to move to Paris – as well as longtime Rick stan Eartheater, who showed up heavily pregnant but still in a full all-black look (obvs). Joining them was Luka Sabbat, Rick collaborator, musician, and producer Sissy Misfit, and, of course, Rick’s wife Michèle Lamy. All in all a pretty major front row situation.
Ever the resourceful designer, this season Rick repurposed half the notes from January’s men’s show, reminding us that the collection, Concordians, was inspired by the 22 years he and his team have been at their factory in the small industrial town Concordia, near Venice in northern Italy. Just like the men’s collection, this season Rick was reminiscing about slumming it in the Concordia Hotel for over a decade, and how living a life of isolation can often be necessary when achieving a creative goal.
The show kicked off as it often does with a series of looks in the dark lord of fashion’s fave colour (black, duh!), with statuesque models making their way down the foggy, backlit catwalk in sweeping column gowns, hulking coats, and cloaks with signature pointed shoulders. After that, the collection branched out into denim and leather looks comprising trousers that had been cut down the seams to become chaps – the Christina Aguilera adjacent style was a heavy contender within the offering, so prepare to get your legs (and ass) out come AW25, cold or not.
Rick continued his streak of turning out showstopping evening looks – of which there were not enough on the awards season red carpets in our humble opinion – with an edit of ethereal white gowns in sparkling fabrics, their draping evoking the folds and forms of classic sculptures. And of course, there were more than a few pairs of Kiss boots tottering down the runway, this time with slouchy tops and unique finishes.
At January’s men’s show, one of the standout garments were those viral fringed leather boots, which seemed to move like they had a mind of their own. Made with Parisian designer Victor Clavelly, this time Rick re-upped their collaboration by having Clavelly use the same technique on chain-linked skirts and dresses for another standout moment. Made from heavyweight groppone cow leather, the material is laser cut and woven together by hand to create the lattice effect, with Rick adding that Clavelly “specialises in exaggerating the body in a way I’m always on the lookout for.”
This season, Concordia wasn’t the only thing that had Rick reminiscing. As models paced the runway, “Mass Production” by Iggy Pop rang through the speakers, the final track from the musician’s 1977 debut album The Idiot. It’s the song that also soundtracked Rick’s first ever New York Fashion Week runway back in 2002, so clearly has lots of significance for the designer. “We won’t legally be able to use [the song] on Youtube,” Rick wrote in the show notes, “but it’s a song that yearns for the weird and wonderful, as much to me now as it did back then.”
