In centuries, when we look back at the menswear seasons of yesteryear, autumn/winter 15 will be remembered first and foremost as the season that Rick Owens sent three penises down his runway. It sounds silly in this day and age, but while no one bats an eyelash at female nudity on the catwalk, the male variety is still something of a shocker. Well, perhaps not a shocker but it certainly had guests looking twice. “Well, isn’t it time?” Owens asked i-D backstage. “I thought it was the most simple, primal gesture-and you know I love a simply tiny, little gesture that packs the wallop.” No pun intended, of course.
Owens’ penis parade came poking out of holes, so to speak, in the deconstruction of uniforms that saw the collar situated down below, creating a kind of horse-shoe frame around the star of the show (the penis, that is), which meant it wasn’t fully on display–and which also meant everyone was slightly leaning forward in their seats to catch a proper glimpse. Well played, Owens. His dick tricks followed last September’s co-ed Meadham Kirchhoff show, which featured a boy in a sheer, nude trouser, his member on prominent display as he sashayed down the runway.
“It’s very powerful,” Owens said. “Not many people can do that. I mean, it’s a straight world now. And it also, I think, says something about being independent. Who else can really get away with that kind of stuff? It’s a corporate world.” And with those words, Owens quite literally stuck a cock in the face of the fashion conglomerates, exercising an irreverence and cheekiness that few other designers could get away with. It was a powerful gesture – even in flaccid condition – and one that could be start to an entirely different men’s fashion week. Ballsy.
Credits
Text Anders Christian Madsen
Photography Mitchell Sams