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

The Peacocks of Pitti Uomo, June 2011

The look on the street at Pitti Uomo and Milano Moda Uomo is about shorts, often with blazers and ties, or as a whole suit. The first five pictures are from Pitti Uomo and Milan, and leading us off is one of my sartorial heroes, the heavily-tattooed Nick Wooster, sporting a light khaki version (with a matching tie!) and a darker suit-styled version. This is a look I will definitely be "rocking," as the kids say, this summer...

Nick Wooster

The amazingly handsome Nick Wooster is my sartorial hero. After working for John Bartlett, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Barneys, Wooster was named Men's Fashion Director of Neiman Marcus Group Services (covering Neiman Marcus stores, Bergdorf Goodman and the Neiman Marcus online and catalog division) this past January.

In every picture, in Milan or Paris or New York for any of the fashion weeks, he looks fantastic. I love his very confident mix of eclectic elements--his tattooed arms contrast beautifully with the crisp, tailored look he tends to favor. But again, like any good stylist or designer knows, you can't be all tailored, so he mixes in shorter hemmed trousers with rough ankle boots. And his haircut and silver facial hair are a perfect foil for everything going on below. Ultimately, Wooster is his own designer, creating a signature look that is cutting edge, sexy, timeless and inimitable.

Above: with William Middleton