Rick Owens' Stone Collection Debuts at Palais de Tokyo

Rick Owens debuted his Spring 2027 womenswear collection, titled 'Stone', at the Palais de Tokyo during Paris Fashion Week. The show featured a staged ramp over water, presenting a meditation on elegance and resilience.

Materials and construction

The collection fused ecclesiastical inspiration with industrial techniques. Sulfur-dyed denim was worked into futuristic tunics and flaring pants. Heavy-duty industrial webbing straps were upcycled into a heavyweight double duchesse satin for ceremonial robes. The most labor-intensive pieces were the closing looks, which featured exoskeletons made from recycled-nylon millefoglie. This specific technique required over 45 hours to complete for each garment.

Silhouettes and details

Silhouettes ranged from stone-colored column dresses to dramatic winged jackets. Some dresses were rigid and splayed on steel grating, while others were made of gossamer fabrics. A black tulle gown featured a spiky, grid-like surface described as brutalist lace. Fabric jutted out in sharp points at the collarbone or formed geometric bustles on long denim skirts. Oversized jackets in waxed, heat-pressed leather were designed with internal straps, allowing them to be worn slung across the shoulders like wings. The usual platform boots were replaced by Perspex wedge thongs or crystal-adorned sandals. Under some dresses, models' feet were wrapped in thick ropes of crystal. The collection also included tulle and elastic pieces in cement gray and creamy chemical yellow, which Owens described backstage as a delicate negligee. A standout trapeze gown in parachute silk, named the 'Clotilde dress' after a painting in the Basilica Saint Clotilde, used many meters of fabric designed to catch the air. The pentagram symbol appeared as a small protest against intolerance.

Show production and reception

The production was characteristically monumental. A long ramp extended from the museum's upper terrace over the pool, with six jets pumping fountains into the air on either side. Models walked its length, finishing just feet from the front row. One attendee admitted to harumphing before the start due to fatigue, but was quickly chastised by a seatmate. After the show, that same seatmate exclaimed, 'that was fantastic'.

Designer references and continuity

Owens tied the collection directly to his men's show from the previous June, which was also titled 'Stone'. He cited the old, grimy paintings in the Basilica of Saint Clotilde, located a block from his Paris studio, as a key inspiration. "I’m not a religious person," Owens said. "I just go because it’s a beautiful old building in Paris. It is an extension of my living room, almost." He acknowledged the absurdity of the tensegrity constructions from his men's show, and for the women's version used frothy tulle threaded onto elastic cords. He described the concept as presenting angels or 'good witches' in long ceremonial robes, exploring a theme of elegant stoicism amid societal paralysis. The collection concluded with the recycled-nylon millefoglie exoskeletons, a technique taking over 45 hours to complete, underscoring Owens’ commitment to labor-intensive, otherworldly craftsmanship.