Shake it for the Man of the Year
Owens has had couple of smashing collections of late, starting with his SS15 collection, ‘Faun’, inspired by the unconventional L’Apres-Midi d’un Faune (Afternoon of the Faun) a ballet performed by the Ballets Russes in 1912 which was scandalous for its time.
It covers the story of a faun chasing a nymph and then masturbating over the scarf that the nymph lost behind. Owens said of the ballet's climactic point: “Everybody in the audience, with all their jewels, are just waiting for this guy to hump the scarf. I love that!” The edgy designer has transformed the story into his own kind of reality with nods to primitive human instincts balanced with paganism.
An organic palette and style at its heart; nappy-style shorts, tent-shaped tunics, trailing scarfs and body straps were recurring.
Alien-like, otherworldly models are coloured with greens, lilacs and blues..
Moving from the historically expressionate art form of ballet, into another, playful art of fashion, is fresh, exciting and affecting.
Not afraid of using sex as a subject matter, Owens moves on with his AW15 collection ‘Sphinx’ which was really, err… ballsy.
#dickowens was the Twitter hash tag that trended round the world when Owens released his models onto the catwalk last week. A fashion first; subtle male nudity adorned the runway as the models strode proudly breaking down a taboo before the viewers eyes.
Owens typical impressive and dramatic drapery was here but with a twist. “Nudity is the most simple and primal gesture – it packs a punch. It’s powerful. It’s a straight world now. It says something about being independent. Who else can really get away with this stuff? It’s a corporate world! This was our private moment,” he said to Dazed magazine. Four of his models wore tunics that exposed their bare genitals underneath with holes in the garments like a peek-a-boo show. In a quote to style magazine, he said: "It's a little bit of juvenile transgression," he mused. "Boys with their dicks out is such a simple, primal, childish gesture."
Owens cites a French movie set in a military submarine as a point of inspiration for a collection where a built-up pressure causes shapes to suddenly shift.
Dark colours and rust colours sprayed onto jackets show a gradual shift from strictly controlled uniforms to something quite undone with loose silhouettes. Buttoned up military peacoats in black and beige worn with dropped crotch shorts, knee high socks and high top shoes merged into upturned knits, capes and loose tunics with peep holes to playfully show the models tackle.
“With the menswear I’m always thinking about decorum. It’s about dignity. They don’t want to look like they’re trying too hard. I’m always thinking of that balance between control and self-discipline. And then on the hand, it could all fall apart. What I do is about control and collapse. And sometimes getting tempted to do one or the other,” Owens said to Dazed magazine.
Oh, and for an absolute corker of a tune to get you bopping around, take a listen to french duo Bames which accompanied the show...