Today had an unexpectedly cheerful vibe for Rick Owens, which wouldn’t be so surprising if you’d been following his Instagram posts recently. He shared an image of Kiss followed by a clothing tag labeled “L.LeGaspi, Inc. NEW YORK.” Larry LeGaspi was the designer behind the iconic looks for Kiss and the 70s girl group Labelle. Owens has been reflecting a lot on LeGaspi lately, and for a good reason: he’s working on a book about him. However, a clothing label wasn’t necessary to identify the glam rock inspiration — or more accurately, glam Rick. The stacked heels, oversized bags casually dragged across the runway floor like a carcass, and the oddly placed shearling backs on early designs, reminiscent of Odysseus escaping the Cyclops, made it evident.
The music was primarily shoegaze with a touch of rock, culminating in a sludgy rendition of Abba’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! The show was eclectic, if not outright celebratory. A fresh and palpable energy had been infused into the Owens formula, and we couldn’t be happier.