And the award for Best Spring 2014 Ready-to-Wear Presentation goes to: Rick Owens. If you had absolutely no idea what ‘stepping’ was until you attended this particular show at Paris Fashion Week, Owens did the art justice and the favor was returned to portray his collection as it was meant to be seen: elegant and rough.
The nostalgia may have kicked into high gear for anyone who’s been exposed to step teams, fraternities, and/or sororities in their college life; but before that feeling completely took over, Owens successfully pulled you back into his world where American grit hit the Parisian catwalk.
Owens, an American designer living in Paris, opted against the typical size-nothing models and selected a diverse group of women of different ethnic backgrounds and sizes. Statements were made, subliminally and obviously, and the non-models who were definitely not trying to model the clothes succeeded in doing just that while making a connection between each look and Owens’ vision.
The forty dancers, all holding a “grit face” throughout the show, included steppers from four sororities: Washington Divas, Soul Steppers, The Momentums, and The Zetas.
To view the full collection, visit WWD.com.
