Capstone: Rick Owens Re-Branding

- THE WORLD OF RICK OWENS

“ I’VE ALWAYS TRIED TO PRESENT A VISION THAT WAS EXTREME B UT REL EVANT TO REAL L IFE. NOT TOO SHINY, A BIT DAMAGED BUT ASPIRATIONAL AND SOMETIMES QUIETLY FL AMBOYANT. ” - R ICK OWENS

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THE WORLD OF RICK OWENS

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PURE AESTHETICS

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BRANDING METAMORPHOSIS

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THE LUXURY OF NOT CARING

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i

REFLECTION OF THE PAST

LOGO IMPLEMENTATION

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T HE WOR L D OF R ICK OWENS

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R ICHAR D SATUR INO OWENS

Rick Owens was born in Porterville, California in 1962. He is an American designer based off Paris known for his avant-garde, yet simple spirit in his designs, which is often described as “the luxury of not caring.” He studied fine arts at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles before taking pattern-cutting classes, which ultimately led him to completely transfer to a career in fashion even though he wasn’t too excited about it. Rick Owens is intoxicated by the act of creation, perhaps even obsessed with the idea of his psyche and spirit being transformed into what we know as “The World of Rick Owens.” His success comes from re-visiting his collections as a way to study the mistakes of the past in order to thrive in the future. It’s a celebration of his ego, a subtle re-examination of his worldview each season. As he says, it’s like looking at the same ego but from a different perspective.

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Rick Owens launched his designer label in the mid nineties. At the time, he was an integral part of the Los Angeles subculture where he began creating garments for him and his friends, but it wasn’t until 10 years later that he received the attention he deserved. His label can be described as the antithesis of conspicuous wealth and has developed into what some call “glunge”; in other words, glamour meets grunge. As a way to reinforce the concept of contrast and the indecision between collapse and control, brutality and refinement, grace and ugliness, Rick Owens opts for monochromatic color schemes because he believes that adding color gives too much information about the inspiration behind each piece. Rick Owens strives on mystery, organized chaos, refined rawness and the celebration of his ego. Rick Owens’ line echoes his beliefs and persona all throughout his designs; he focuses on aesthetics and functionality, discipline and momentum and describes his style as broken idealism. However, even though his aesthetic thrives on subtle chaos and the celebration of his ego, Owens’ line is surprisingly successful in terms of commercial sales in luxury department stores in terms of sales compared to his contemporaries. He launches only two men’s and women’s collections each season along with his DRKSHDW diffusion line as well as expensive furniture line with high-quality materials and real fur. He doesn’t advertise and his collections, which are both shown in Paris, for he is focused on the development of his personal aesthetic rather than following the trends in the industry. His use of materials and impeccable craftsmanship are two of the most important aspects of his designs, but the mysterious and avant-garde spirit of his label is what makes Rick Owens’ line dramatic and memorable. Rick Owens, a self-professed outsider, takes pride in his empire of dark fashion that has elevated him in the fashion industry, not only because of his designs, but because the presentation and the personality behind them are what create this shock value in the world of fashion.

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MICHEL E L AMY

Michele Lamy, Rick Owens’ muse and wife, is best known for being the creative mind behind the Rick Owens’ line, but she has been a performer, clothes designer, restaurateur, film producer and a “niche” fashion icon. Lamy is known for being one of the figures behind the “Les Deux Cafes” cabaret bar that was in business during the 90s in LA from 1997 until 2003. Her eccentric style has been recognized among true fashion insiders and important individuals in various industries, not only because of how eclectic and personal it is, but also how appropriate and true it is to her persona and what she believes in. This Parisian woman is one of the few real eccentrics that the modern world still has the pleasure of admiring; her gold plated teeth, her chunky jewelry, the tattooed fingers and forehead are some of her most distinguishable features that are recognized amongst many creatives in the industry. The fact that she is the right hand, muse and wife of the luxuriously grungy Rick Owens proves that Michele Lamy has been an essential catalyst to some important and relevant designers like Gareth Pugh, for example, ultimately acting as the vector that connects the existent spark of creativity in each of them and multiplying it by a thousand so the world can see it too. She is an igniter of many worlds and careers, but even though she has the ability to take the business side of the industry onto herself and make it larger than before ultimately proves that Lamy is a true maverick in everything she does, just like her husband. Needless to say that Michele Lamy and Rick Owens were a match made in the edge of heaven and hell.

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RI CK OW ENS ' RU L ES O F ST Y L E

1.

I’m not good at subtlety. If you’re not going to be discreet and quiet, then just go all the way and have the balls to shave off your eyebrows, bleach your hair, and put on some big bracelets.

2.

Working out is modern couture. No outfit is going to make you look or feel as good as having a fit body. Buy less clothing and go to the gym instead.

3.

I’ve lived in Paris for six years, and I’m sorry to say that the Ugly American syndrome still exists. Sometimes you just want to say “Stop destroying the landscape with your outfit.” Still, from a design standpoint, I’m tempted to redo the fanny pack.

I look at it as a challenge—it’s something to react against.

4.

When a suit gets middle-of-the-road it kind of loses me—it has to be sharp and classic and almost forties.

5.

Hair and shoes say it all. Everything in between is forgivable as long as you keep it simple. Trying to talk with your clothes is passive-aggressive.

6.

There’s something a little too chatterboxy about color.

Right now I want black, for its sharpness and punctuation.

7.

Jean-Michel Frank, the thirties interior and furniture designer, supposedly had 40 identical double-breasted gray flannel suits. He knew himself and is a wonderful example of restraint and extravagance.

8.

I hate rings and bracelets on men. I’m not a fan of man bags, or girl bags either—or even sunglasses. I don’t like fussy accessories. Isn’t it more chic to be free? Every jacket I make has interior pockets big enough to store a book and a sandwich and a passport.

9.

With layering, sometimes the more the better. When you layer a lot of black you’re like a walking Louise Nevelson sculpture, and that’s pretty attractive. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is also one of the most attractive things you can do.

10.

It’s funny—whenever someone talks about rules, I just want to break them. I recoil from the whole idea of rules.

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PUR E AESTHETICS Owens is a romantic at heart, but his aesthetic revolves around the concept of darkly glamorous goes gothic grunge but with impeccable craftsmanship and high quality materials. It’s the perfect mix between being modest and conspicuous without forgetting his true identity and motives behind his business. Rick Owens and his muse, Michele Lamy, seem to exist in an alternate reality, a world of their own that they have built from their own worldviews and partnership. The monochromatic scheme that is echoed allthroughout the Owens’ line is appropriate to its aesthetic because Rick Owens is a man who likes simplicity, but appreciates and celebrates good craftsmanship. He is known for his leather jackets and coats, sharply drawn hemlines, lean and narrow silhouettes and obviously the monochromatic black and white palette that represents the brand.

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rudim e ntary

+ ANDROGYNOUS

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AN-DROG-Y-NOUS

- adjective

1. suitable to or for either sex.

2. partly male and partly female in appearance; of indeterminate sex.

3. neither specifically feminine nor masculine.

4. having traditional male and female roles obscured or reversed.

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abstract

+ STRUCTURED

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STRUC-TURED

- adjective

1. a complex system considered from the point of view of the whole rather than the single parts.

2. anything composed of parts arranged together in some way.

3. the relationship of the component parts of a work of art.

4. construct a systematic framework.

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e le g a nt

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OB-SCURE

- adjective

1. of deep meaning; going far beneath what is superficial, external, or obvious.

2. the condition of being unknown.

3. uncertainty of meaning or expression; ambiguity.

4. originating or penetrating to the depths of one’s being.

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REFL ECTION OF THE PAST Rick Owens once described his clothes as “the luxury of not caring� and he does little to no advertising for his brand because it has received global recognition because of its gender neutral designs, commerciality and great craftsmanship. Over the last twenty years, Rick Owens and Michele Lamy have managed to construct their own world and have turned it into a commercially successful business with a very particular aesthetic that is true to their worldview.

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adverti s ements

+ LOOKBOOKS

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FW14 SS14 FW13 SS13 FW12 SS12 FW11 SS11 FW10 SS10 FW09 FW06 FW05 SS05 FW04 SS04 FW03 SS03

r u n way / ac c es s o ri e s

COLLECTIONS

moody vi ci ous pl i nth i sl and mountai n naska l i mo anthem gl eam rel ease cr ust dustul ator moog scor pi o queen ci troen tr ucker sucker bal l

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archi tecture / s p a ce s

+ FURNITURE

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BR ANDING METAMOR PHOSIS Rick Owens’ aesthetic revolves around the fondness of all darkness, a mysterious edge, his ego and luxury. The current logo used for the brand does not reflect the values and beliefs of Rick Owens for it is a generic sans serif font that fails to communicate the spirit of the brand. So, the reason behind the re-branding of this logo is to reinforce the current aesthetic by reflecting the three basic components of the brand: blurred gender lines, architectural background and mystery.

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SAME EGO, DIFFER ENT PER SPECTIVE

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FO N T E X PL O RAT IO N + LO GO CO NST RU CT IO N

The concept, development and construction of the new logo is based on three main themes that are echoed all throughout the Rick Owens brand: androgyny, structure and obscurity. By using a heavy and wide font, Plateia, the gender lines are blurred automatically for the design of this font is universal and neutral. Also, the sans serif design reinforces the structured

lettermark

SYMBOL

aesthetic that the brand carries, ultimately reflecting the architectural aspect of it. Lastly, the mysterious aesthetic of the brand is also threaded in the design of this logo, but more specifically in the logo mark because it conceals the identity behind the lettered symbol (RO).

By having a logo type and logo mark it gives the brand more freedom when it comes to the spectrum of products within the line.

font family

P L AT E I A

wordmark

LOGO

FINAL SY MB O L + L O GO lettermark

wordmark

SYMBOL

LOGO

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LOGO IMPL EMENTATION

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print / digital

ADVERTISEMENTS

The new logo will be used for the promotion of the seasonal men and women’s collections as well as for digital media, runways, fashion films, lookbooks, new collections and for whatever intriguing concept Rick Owens might come up with in the future.

This logo type and logo mark are the perfect combination for the brand because they are flexible enough to be used throughout any campaign and media for ads and for brand recognition.

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social media

+ LOOKBOOKS

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T HE L UXUR Y OF NOT CAR ING

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