Journey

Clothing has meant a lot to me for the last few years. I've only really been into it for around 4 years now, so I am no seasoned veteran yet. However, getting into “fashion” and “personal style” was extremely impactful to me because it was a clear break from the purity culture uniform I was faithful to for so long. A scary, but exciting journey towards pure “self-expression”.

Upon my entrance into fashion, I rejected luxury fashion assuming it was all meaningless and capitalist expensive nonsense. I think it still is in a sense, especially for the fashion houses owned by LVMH, but I am less uncompromising on this idea now. TLDR: I watched a lot of Rick Owens interviews and it changed my mind.

Obsession

Pinning down what led to me listening to so many interviews about him is hard- I don't really remember or know how I got there. I watch a lot of history videos about design and fashion houses, so it was probably from there. I also thought his personal life was intriguing.

Through listening to all of these interviews on my commute to/from work, understanding his background and philosophy, I really fell in love. Mostly with his design ethos, although I do think he is unintentionally hilarious and admire how he carries himself.

Falling in love with the visual components of his work followed understanding of his design ethos. Pieces that were once uncomfortable and offensive to me became enchanting and alluring, because I understood what he was saying and why. I find his obsession with distorting the human body interesting and exciting. It is something I ruminated on for a long time - why are we so confined to this body, and why must my clothes do nothing but fit it? It really resonates with me now that I get it and now I'm a little obsessed with his work.