Rick Owens

American fashion designer who has a furniture line and a number of diffusion lines in addition to his main clothing line. He has collaborated with Italian outwear brand Moncler, American activewear brand Champion, and footwear brands Birkenstock, Dr. Martens, Converse, and Veja.

Owens was raised in Porterville, California by father John and mother Concepción "Connie" Owens who is Mexican. He was raised in a conservative, Catholic household. After graduating high school, he moved to Los Angeles, California to study art at Otis College of Art and Design for two years before taking pattern-making and draping courses at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. This led to work in the garment industry, designing copies of designer clothing. Owens then met Michèle Lamy, who at this time was well known in the Los Angeles social scene and owned the "Lamy" sportswear brand.

Owens launched his fashion line in 1994, operating out of a store in Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles. He gained notability after model Kate Moss was photographed by Corrine Day for Vogue Paris in one of his signature leather jackets. Vogue America then sponsored his first runway, which he titled "Sparrows FW02". Owens also attributes early support by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue.

He moved to Paris in 2003 with his partner Michèle Lamy, a decision that was partially motivated by being mugged in Los Angeles. He set up his home and atelier inside a historic five-story building that previously served as offices for former French President François Mitterrand. His runway collections have been mounted in Paris since then. In 2004, Owens and Michèle Lamy established their own fashion company Owenscorp, and described their business partnership as “asking a gypsy to organize a war with a fascist.”

In 2013, Owens exhibited his 'Prehistoric' collection at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London.