Welcome to the 91st insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode we step into the shadows to explore Rick Owens’ fetishized world.
Raised as a Catholic in Porterville, California, Rick Owens was a sheltered kid. In his youth, he was rather plump, an introvert at best, and compliant with the suppressive standards his small town demanded. Void of an expressive outlet, the designer felt trapped and consequently vengeful, forming “a sense of defiance and rebellion”.
Moving to Los Angeles in pursuit of design, Owens became violently flamboyant, exploring every avenue of identity. Indulging in the underground scene, he progressively discovered a sense of self, experimenting with makeup and high-heels. Owens naturally gravitated to fringe and embraced discomfort, finding himself at fetish clubs with similarly unaccepted crowds.
This interest in rebellion fueled much of his creative work, and began appearing more frequently both literally and in premise. As our socio-political atmosphere changed, so did Owens, rebelling in new ways to ultimately deconstruct our perceptions of the avoided. Whether it’s degradation, sadism or BDSM as a whole, he attempts to normalize these fetishes to some degree.
While much of his diversion is sexually oriented, Owens’ true agitation dervies from society’s intolerance for the atypical. In his words, “It’s fine for movies to depict people being ripped apart by bullets to a heavy metal soundtrack, but a little bit of piss drinking and people get all nervous…And yet we’re fine with a hot, half-naked guy nailed to a cross dying,”
The designer staged his suicide in a 2006 photoshoot titled “BLOW JOB”, cut out glory holes on the runway in 2015, and made one of the most brutal music videos titled “Butt Muscle” in 2017 (watch at your own risk). Each of these mediums are shocking and potentially revolting, but are identical in purpose - unrest. By disrupting, Owens effectively pushes his audience into a foreign perspective, challenging the ideals he once abided by.
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