ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST — RICK OWENS TALKS INTERIORS, FURNITURE, AND PERSONAL STYLE — MAY 1 2017 — BY ALICIA BRUNKER

MAY 1 2017

TAKE A STROLL THROUGH RICK OWENS’S NEW SOHO STORE AND YOU’LL FIND A SERIES OF ROCK CRYSTAL AND CAMEL HAIR–COVERED BENCHES AS PERCHES FOR TRYING ON THE FASHION DESIGNER’S SIGNATURE SOCK SNEAKER BOOTS OR STRUCTURAL CANTILEVERED HEELS. MAKE YOUR WAY UP THE COLOSSAL CONCRETE STAIRWELL, AND THERE ARE GEOMETRIC MARBLE CHAIRS PUZZLED BETWEEN SILVER RACKS FILLED WITH LEATHER JACKETS, FUNNEL-NECK DRESSES, AND ASYMMETRICAL TANKS. IT’S THE PERFECT CONVERGENCE OF FASHION AND FURNITURE, WITH EVERYTHING SINGLE-HANDEDLY CRAFTED BY OWENS. AND WHILE HE’S BEST KNOWN FOR CONSTRUCTING IMAGINATIVE GOTHWEAR, OWENS’S CREATIVITY ALSO EXPANDS INTO JUST-AS-INVENTIVE FURNITURE DESIGN. WHAT STARTED AS A HOBBY WITH HIS WIFE, MICHÈLE LAMY, SOON TRANSFORMED INTO A FULL-FLEDGED COLLECTION OF ANTLER CHAIRS, BARK TABLES, AND MARBLE PLINTHS THAT ORIGINALLY OCCUPIED HIS PALAIS BOURBON HOME IN PARIS, AS ILLUSTRATED IN HIS RECENTLY RELEASED TOME, RICK OWENS FURNITURE (RIZZOLI, $60). AD CAUGHT UP WITH THE DESIGNER AT HIS MANHATTAN FLAGSHIP TO DISCUSS HIS INTERIOR INFLUENCES, LOCATION-SPECIFIC DESIGN, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS ‘ANTI-COZY’ CRUSADE.

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ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST: WHAT INITIALLY INSPIRED YOU TO DESIGN YOUR OWN COLLECTION OF FURNITURE WITH YOUR WIFE, MICHÈLE?

RICK OWENS: WE HAD AN EMPTY HOUSE AND THE CREATION OF FURNITURE BECAME LIKE A WONDERFUL HOBBY FOR US AS A COUPLE. IT'S OUR WAY OF PLAYING TOGETHER, AND IT'S A CONSTANT CONVERSATION. WE DIDN'T NEED A FURNITURE BUSINESS, BUT IT BECAME SOMETHING WE ENJOYED, AND EVENTUALLY IT DEVELOPED A LIFE OF ITS OWN. IF YOU WERE ABLE TO CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING AROUND YOUR HOUSE, YOU WOULD, EVEN SOMETHING MUNDANE LIKE A DOORKNOB. THAT'S WHERE WE ARE; WE WANT TO CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE WAY WE LIVE.

AD: HOW DO YOU WORK TOGETHER?

RO: OUR STYLE IS SIMILAR, BUT WE APPROACH THE DESIGN PROCESS IN DIFFERENT WAYS. MICHÈLE IS VERY ORGANIC AND I'M A LITTLE BIT MORE RIGID. FOR EXAMPLE, SHE LIKES TO GAMBLE ON EMERGING ARTISTS TO SEE IF THEY'RE GOING TO LAST, WHEREAS I LIKE ANTIQUES BECAUSE THERE ARE NO MORE VARIABLES LEFT. SHE KIND OF DISRUPTED MY WORLD IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY. WE DON'T AGREE ON EVERYTHING AND SOMETIMES THERE ARE HEATED DISCUSSIONS, BUT WE ALWAYS END UP AT THE RIGHT PLACE.

AD: HOW DO YOU MERGE YOUR OUTLOOKS INTO A SINGLE FURNISHING, LET ALONE AN ENTIRE HOME?

RO: WE DIVIDED THE HOUSES. OUR HOME IN PARIS IS WARM, WHILE IN VENICE THE VIBE IS VERY SEVERE AND CHILLY. IN PARIS, IT'S MORE RELAXED; PEOPLE ARE BRINGING THEIR DOGS OVER AND WE HAVE CATS. BUT WITH THE HOUSE IN ITALY, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF FURNITURE, AND THE FURNITURE THAT IS THERE IS ALL FINNISH ART NOUVEAU.

AD: WHAT'S SOMETHING DESIGN-WISE THAT YOU NOTICE WHEN YOU GO INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S HOMES?

RO: I HAVE A BIG THING WITH TOILETS. THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST PROSAIC OBJECTS, AND SOMETIMES YOU GO INTO SOMEONE'S HOUSE AND THEY HAVE ART AND HIGH-END FURNITURE, BUT YOU GO INTO THEIR BATHROOM AND SEE A PLASTIC TOILET. HOW CAN YOU LIVE WITH A PICASSO AROUND THE CORNER, YET OWN A PLASTIC TOILET? MY TOILETS AT HOME ARE RAW CRYSTAL OR MARBLE, SOMETIMES ONYX. IT DEPENDS ON THE WALL MATERIAL. I'LL USE THE SAME STONE FOR THE TOILET AND BATHROOM WALLS.

AD: YOU'VE LIVED IN THE STATES AND NOW EUROPE. HOW HAS YOUR DESIGN AESTHETIC EVOLVED?

RO: PARIS IS REALLY CURLY. YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY CLASSICISM AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF BUILDINGS ON TOP OF BUILDINGS ON TOP OF BUILDINGS. WHEN YOU COME TO NEW YORK, IT'S SO LINEAR AND SLEEK. I KIND OF FORGOT WHAT IT IS LIKE HERE. IT TOOK LIVING IN EUROPE TO REALLY APPRECIATE THAT TYPE OF SEVERITY. LIVING IN EUROPE, YOU RISE TO THE OCCASION; THE STANDARDS ARE HIGHER AND THERE'S A SENSE OF POETRY THAT IS DEMANDED. HERE, IT'S MORE ABOUT EFFICIENCY AND POWER. THERE, IT'S POETRY AND ABSTRACTION.

AD: HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR INTERIOR TASTE NOW?

RO: IN FASHION, I ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY: IF MARLENE DIETRICH FELL IN LOVE WITH FRANKENSTEIN AT A LEATHER BAR. WITH INTERIORS, I'M THINKING OF SOMETHING LIKE AN ART DECO INSTITUTIONAL PRISON. I LOOK TO ARCHITECTS LIKE MARCEL BREUER OR LE CORBUSIER, AND INFLUENCES, SUCH AS FINNISH ART NOUVEAU, MAYAN TEMPLES, AND RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS WITH PROPORTIONS THAT ARE MEANT TO INSPIRE A SPIRITUAL AWE. THEN, I ROUGH IT UP. THERE'S GOT TO BE A SENSE OF CRUDENESS.

AD: A LOT OF YOUR FURNITURE LOOKS MORE LIKE BEAUTIFUL SCULPTURES AND ART OBJECTS THAN SOFAS AND CHAIRS. HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR PIECES LIVABLE?