We return to the Palais de Tokyo again this year for Rick Owens' Spring Summer 2019 'Babel', where the clear Paris skies are shrouded in colored smoke emitted from geometric scaffold-like structures around the courtyard. Before we talk about the clothes, let's take a look at Owens' references for this season.

Like many of his prior seasons, "Babel" draws from several architectural, biblical and historical references. The most obvious is the biblical parable of the Tower of Babel, which describes humanity sharing a single language and working together to build a tower intended to reach the heavens. The construction is left unfinished after communication is disrupted and language becomes divided, leaving people unable to understand one another. This leads to Owens referencing another utopian tower. Vladimir Tatlin’s unbuilt Monument to the Third International, a proposed spiralling structure designed as a state building, but was never realized due to political and logistical constraints of the period. 

Back to the runway. We observe that Constructivism, an early twentieth century design approach defined by industrial materials, geometric structure, and functional construction, played a major role in shaping both the set design and the garments of the season. Owens created a disorienting environment with the billowing smoke. As a result, forms and silhouettes were partially hidden, creating a disrupted way of seeing his clothes.

The show opened with geometrical tanks with inset rods paired with oversized darted popper bottoms that twisted and warped along the legs, occasionally layered with aggressively cropped outerwear and sharply tailored jackets that pressed against the rods, distorting the overall frame and outline of the body (can't imagine how uncomfortable it is). The looks were occasionally punctuated by one of the most phenomenal Rick accessories —tassle face masks.

Fabrics and materials such as waxed cotton, nylon, denim, and sequins gave the same make and type of garment a different texture and altered how it flowed and moved with the body. Owens also employed strategic cuts and contrasting colors, creating negative space and an illusion of depth. The show closed with massive tent-like parkas. "They are going to be shipped as nylon parkas, with the poles separately. So you can build them if you want to. But what you are going to see on the hanger is a nice, soft nylon parka—the poles represent what this parka can be. That’s the idea of hope; that is what the poles represent in a way."

These iconic Pod shorts received a patchwork-like treatment as seen on the runway Pushers and feature an elasticated drawstring waist, oversized rear pockets, and a built-in metal loop.

Measurements:
Waist 37cm (Drawstring, stretchable)
Leg Opening 24.5cm
Front Rise 43cm
Inseam 15cm
Thighs 31cm