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How Rick Owens Is Using Sneakers To Fuel His Growing Empire

Years before his label amassed a big sneaker fan base, Rick Owens remembered a time when shoes were still unfamiliar territory.

Flash-forward to today, and Rick Owens sneakers appear on a diverse range of brand devotees who worship his clothes like a religion. They’re a hard-to-miss clan that’s equal parts glam and goth, typically dressed in all black and wearing one of his signature leather jackets.

“Rick Owens has cultivated a passionate and loyal following who wear the collection like a uniform,” said Federico Barassi, menswear buying manager for Ssense, an e-tailer that focuses on luxury and independent designers.

Yet in the beginning, Owens was simply a designer making clothes out of old T-shirts, operating from a grungy storefront off Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. “It was very much a Scotch-taped approach,” Owens said. He originally launched his label as a women’s collection in 1994, adding menswear in 2002.

Now, his private Paris-based company, Owenscorp, is a $120 million business — one the designer still owns without outside investors and runs with the help of his enigmatic wife and partner of 25 years, Michèle Lamy — or as Owens calls her, “a no-bullshit magic witch.”

Together, Owens and Lamy have extended the brand beyond ready-to-wear clothing, also dabbling in furniture and interior design. Owens has also tackled sportswear, fostering a partnership with Adidas that has spurred ongoing footwear collaborations.

No matter whether he’s designing Adidas sports shoes or lace-up combat boots and architectural sneakers (which he produces in Italy), Owens said he crafts his pieces with a certain sense of practicality in mind. “I like things that function and that are logical,” he said. “The commercial side is one of my favorite parts. I mean, no one would ever assume that.”

Owens’ distinctive footwear styles have ignited a healthy consumer appetite for his brand, one that luxury retailers can’t deny.

“His range is vast, producing everything from trainers that work for everyday [wear] to statement pieces like thigh-high boots,” said Tom Kalenderian, EVP and GMM of men’s and Chelsea Passage departments for Barneys New York. “Regardless, the aficionados who buy the most extreme footwear likely wear it every day confidently, as though they were a basic.”

Roma Cohen, co-owner of the Alchemist, said Owens’ sneakers have served as a driving force in launching a now-burgeoning scene. “He was one of the first to design a leather sneaker in the $1,300 price range many years ago, which paved the way for millennial clients moving toward the designer-sneaker world,” he said.

One of his greatest sneaker hits includes his signature Geobasket style, a bulky sneaker that aimed to exaggerate — and somewhat parody — iconic Nike, Adidas and Puma motifs. “Sports shoes were never my thing,” said Owens. “The only reason I started making them was because they frustrated me. They were a little too prosaic. I wanted to exoticize them.”

When the designer launched the Geobasket in 2008, he promptly received a cease-and-desist letter from Nike, claiming the style’s side swoosh design was too similar. “I was just flattered to death,” said Owens. “I swooned.” As a result, the style has been redesigned and continues to be its best-selling shoe.

No Stranger to Controversy

Insiders can’t think of the designer without conjuring up images of his many buzzy — not to mention divisive — runway shows.

Where several fashion houses are competing for the most extravagant venues to host their presentations — think Chanel’s cruise ’17 show in Havana or Christian Dior’s cruise ’17 show at Pierre Cardin’s Palais Bulles — Owens aims to disrupt rather than play into the industry’s indulgent nature.

There was the spring ’16 women’s show, where models carried other models as accessories. Before that, the fall ’15 men’s show, where models braved full-frontal cutouts. And who could forget the spring ’14 women’s show, where Owens forwent models and enlisted African-American step dancers from various American sororities.

For Owens, who showed his spring ’17 men’s show, Walrus, in Paris last week, runway theatrics convey a personal feeling and statement for the season. “I don’t think it’s possible to really shock anybody anymore, although I’m surprised sometimes,” said Owens. “I don’t want to waste people’s time. It’s a busy calendar, so if you’re going to do a show, do a show.”

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Kirjoitettu Tuesday 28.06.2016

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