DANSK MAGAZINE – AUTUMN/WINTER 2009 – BY ANDERS CHRISTIAN MADSEN

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009

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IN RECENT SEASONS, YOU SEEM TO HAVE BEEN MORE GENEROUS IN YOUR USE OF COLOUR. WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH COLOUR? 

INDIFFERENT, I SUPPOSE. I LIKE THE SOBRIETY OF NEUTRALS AND BLACKS PARTLY FOR THEIR FORMALITY AND PARTLY FOR THEIR VERSATILITY. NEUTRALS ALSO SUGGEST A STEADY CHARACTER TO ME. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF I COULD DO COLORS AS WONDERFULLY AND MADLY CHIC AS CHRISTIAN LACROIX, I WOULD. 

HAIR IS ALWAYS A BIG PART OF A RICK OWENS SHOW. WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON HAIR? WHAT GOES INTO THE BIRTH OF A RICK OWENS HAIRCUT? 

I LIKE A COMMITMENT WITH HAIR. LONG OR SHAVED. IF YOU'RE NOT A NATURAL BEAUTY (AND WHO OF US IS?), EITHER ONE GIVES A LITTLE BIT OF GENTLE PIZAZZ. 

YOU RECENTLY OPENED YOU STORE IN LONDON. HOW DO FEEL ABOUT LONDON? WHAT'S YOUR VIEW ON LONDON-BASED FASHION? 

LOVE LONDON. I LOVE THE POSTWAR MONUMENTS AND CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION, I LOVE THE KIDS IN THEIR TIGHT JEANS AND DROOPY JEANS AND CUTE HAIR. I LIKE IT WHEN BRITS GET BATTY: STEPHEN TENNANT, BARBARA CARTLAND, MARGARET RUTHERFORD. I LOVE GLAM ROCK, PUNK ROCK, PENELOPE TREE, THE PHENOMENON OF KATE MOSS. 

YOU'VE WORKED WITH GARETH PUGH, WHO SEEMS TO BE VERY INSPIRED BY YOU. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HIS WORK? WHY DO LIKE HIM AS A DESIGNER? 

HE'S A LOVELY GUY WITH A STEELY DETERMINATION TO CREATE WHETHER WE PAY ATTENTION TO HIM OR NOT. HE'S VERY POLITE AND AT THE SAME TIME IS VIOLENTLY REJECTING CONFORMITY. I REALLY ENJOY THAT COMBINATION. VERY BRITISH. 

A MOULD OF YOUR BODY IS DISPLAYED IN YOUR PARIS STORE, AND YOUR HEAD IS EXHIBITED ON A PLATE AT YOUR LONDON STORE. WHAT'S THE CONNOTATION OF THIS? 

I HAD ORIGINALLY COMMISIONED THE FULL FIGURE FOR MY HOUSE. IT WAS MY PERSONAL INTERPRETATION OF A MAN'S PORTRAIT OVER THE FIREPLACE; AN EXPRESSION OF VANITY AND MORTALITY, THE IMPLICATION BEING THAT YOU'RE CAPTURING THE PRIME OF YOUR LIFE AND HOW YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED. YOUR DECLINE IS IMPLICIT. 

BUT I GOT TIRED OF SEEING IT IN THE HOUSE EVERY DAY AND THOUGHT THAT THE PARIS STORE NEEDED A LITTLE SHOCK. 

I'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT MY CLOTHES ARE MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY, AND I FEEL THAT THE FIGURES MIGHT REINFORCE THAT. 

YOU CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THE REALMS OF ASYMMETRY. WHAT IS IT ABOUT ASYMMETRY THAT COMMUNICATES SO WELL WITH RICK OWENS? 

ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS IS 'AGAINST THE GRAIN' BY J.K. HUYSMANS. I LIKE THAT IDEA, AND I LIKE HOW IT FITS IN WITH BIAS CUTTING AND WRAPPING ANGLES AROUND THE BODY. 

IN THE LAST FEW YEARS IT APPEARS THERE'S BEEN A CLEARER SEPARATION IN THE GENDER SPECIFICATIONS BETWEEN YOUR WOMENSWEAR AND MENSWEAR. HAVE YOU CONSCIOUSLY STRIVED TO MAKE YOUR EXPRESSIONS LESS ASEXUAL OR UNISEX? 

UH, NO, I DON'T THINK SO. 

DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? 

YES, FROM 20 YEARS AGO. I HAVE A FLAMING SKULL ON A STAR ON MY LEFT ARM, AND A STAR ON MY RIGHT FOREARM. I WAS CONSCIOUS AT THE TIME OF GETTING THE DUMBEST, MOST ADOLESCENT TATTOO I COULD SO IT WOULDN'T DATE. I'M GLAD I DID. THEY WERE MEANT TO EXPRESS NIHILISM AND ABANDON, NOT SENTIMENTALITY OR SPIRITUALITY. I DON'T SEE THEM ANYMORE. 

DRKSHDW HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR DOMAIN. WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS FOR THE LINE? 

RECENTLY, I'VE BEEN SEEING IT AS MORE LIKE WORKER-HEALTH-FITNESS UNIFORMS. I'M WORKING ON CUSTOM ARTISINAL DENIMS AS WELL. 

DESCRIBE YOUR FIRST LADY, MICHELE LAMY. 

EMBRACING, GENEROUS, HOT-HEADED, MAGIC, IMPETUOUS, IMPERIOUS, SOFT, SMOKE, MIRRORS AND VEILS. 

OVER THE PAST DECADE YOU HAVE GONE FROM BEING A FASHION DESIGNER TO PERSONALITY/ICON. WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON FASHION CELEBRITY? IN YEARS TO COME, DO YOU SEE YOURSELF BECOMING A LAGERFELD-LIKE, SUPERHUMAN TYPE OF CHARACTER? 

I'M FLATTERED THAT YOU THINK I COULD MAINTAIN THAT KIND OF INTEREST. I DON'T THINK I HAVE THAT MUCH ENERGY. 

YOU SEEM TO BE SO RELAXED IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY. WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE INDUSTRY LIKE? 

I WOULD SAY 'DISTANT' BUT THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT EVERYBODY I'VE EVER MET IN THE BUSINESS SAYS. 

WHICH DESIGNERS DO YOU CURRENTLY PAY ATTENTION TO? WHO DO YOU ADMIRE? 

IT WOULD BE A LONG LIST. I LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT EVERYBODY'S GOING TO SHOW NEXT. I'M A BIG FASHION FAN. 

THIS WEEK, EVERYBODY'S WEIGHING IN ON THE PASSING OF MICHAEL JACKSON AND HIS INFLUENCE ON FASHION. WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON HIS STYLE LEGACY? DID HE EVER WEAR ANY OF YOUR DESIGNS?