BEAUTY: Furniture--Rick Owens

Regular readers know that every January and June, this blog is given over to coverage of the runway shows that happen in England and Europe. I follow fashion the way some people follow art or artists and I think designers at the highest level are indeed creating conceptual art. One of my favorite conceptual fashion designers is the incomparable Rick Owens who has been creating wearable sculpture for some time. And considering my love of his sculptural work, and the fact that I am by trade an interior designer, you'd think I would have posted about his furniture design as well. But looking back, I see I have somehow neglected to share his vision for interiors. So here we go...

His furniture designs which are created in collaboration with his French wife Michele Lamy are naturally reflective of his clothing (if you'd like to see what I mean, click here to see past posts of his runway shows). Simple, monolithic shapes dominate. His seating and objects have an ancient, Neolithic sense to them--tables seem like altars, stools and seats seem like ritual objects. This sense is highlighted by rough or elemental materials like alabaster, cement, marble, cast bronze, and plywood. To add interest, he uses hair-on-hide, leather, and moose antlers...

This is his double recamier, below, made of raw plywood and leather...

...and here it is in the living room at the Hamptons home of Dominique Lévy and Dorothy Berwin.

A Rizzoli book about Rick Owens' furniture designs was released earlier this year and he and Lamy signed copies at the opening of his newest store in Manhattan in May.

And look who showed up at the opening: Nick Wooster!

https://www.rickowens.eu/en/US/furnitures