Titled “Temple of Love,” Rick Owens’ Spring/Summer 2026 collection at Paris Fashion Week set the stage for his newly unveiled retrospective at the Musée Palais Galliera.
Summary
Rick Owens’ SS26 show at Paris Fashion Week unfolded as a dramatic prelude to his “Temple of Love” retrospective, now open at Palais Galliera. Models walked a raised runway over the fountain at Palais de Tokyo, blurring boundaries between performance art and fashion. His signature style—European refinement infused with American directness—was reflected in raw leather, studded straps, slashed Tuscan skins, oversized flight jackets, and the return of his “Burrito Sneaks.”
Owens, long celebrated as fashion’s master of brutalist elegance, offered more than a seasonal collection. The show became an immersive, theatrical experience that embodied his vision of renewal, fragility, and strength. Guests stood around the vast fountain at Palais de Tokyo as models emerged on an elevated path. In a striking moment, they descended into the water itself, pausing to let garments cling to their bodies before continuing, soaked, across the stage. This act of immersion echoed themes of cleansing, rebirth, and vulnerability—motifs central to Owens’ work.
The drenched silhouettes magnified the sculptural interplay between fabric and skin, emphasizing the primal essence of his designs. This living performance doubled as a preview of the “Temple of Love” retrospective, reaffirming Owens’ talent for weaving spectacle with substance.
This season highlighted exposed flesh through cut-out black leathers, straps reminiscent of neoclassical drapery, and slashed Tuscan hides. Voluminous parkas and flight jackets were rendered in eco-conscious Italian nylon and silk taffeta, while collaborations included outerwear nodding to New York punk band Suicide and reissued knits by Terry-Ann Frencken from 2002. Together, these elements shaped a collection that was both deeply personal and powerfully theatrical.
Rick Owens’ “Temple of Love” retrospective is now open at the Musée Palais Galliera.
