Rick Owens Sets The Season's Style Guide

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then the fashion biz must be one big love-in. Look around your local Urban Outfitters, American Apparel or H&M, and you’ll notice a bevy of biker-style jackets and billowing-yet-filmy tops layered over scrunched leggings -- all rich in texture, decked out in tonal blacks and grays.

American designer Rick Owens and his avant-garde silhouettes had a big hand in creating this season’s must-have look. From Helmut Lang to Gareth Pugh, and smaller names like Raquel Allegra, tastemakers around the globe are mirroring Owens’ timeless yet modern designs that have been going strong since 1994.
 
The deafening ka-ching of Owens’ impact on the industry resonates loudly: his influence has trickled down the chain store route, and sent consumers into a buying frenzy.
 
The process by which a Rick Owens designs a simple jacket that quickly dispatches fashion brands in a race to produce knock-offs is a reliable part of the fashion food chain that tests a brand and its ability to meet its followers’ needs. Brands retain their vitality by monitoring the rapid life-cycle of trends, and must avoid becoming stale -- all the while vying against competitors who have tapped into the same market, catering to the fickle consumer.
 
New York retail consultant Howard Davidowitz observes, “You can’t ignore a popular look if you want to be commercial.” Merchants are advised to “get that look in any shape or form, and get it at a price.”
 
This go-getter attitude keeps brands on their toes. In this case it’s all about morose tones, asymmetric hemlines and experimenting with texture -- at least until leggings paired with layered tops are added to the ever-expanding fashion graveyard.