Fashion career profile
Rick Owens
Rick Owens is an American fashion designer who founded his namesake label in Los Angeles in the early 1990s; the house records 1994 as its launch year. He attended Otis College of Art and Design, left before completing his studies, and later took a pattern-cutting course at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. Owens began by selling small runs to independent boutiques. A 2001 New York runway, supported by Vogue, preceded the CFDA Perry Ellis Award for Emerging Talent in 2002. In 2003 he became Artistic Director of the French fur house Revillon and moved to Paris; he held that role until 2005. Owens began a furniture practice in 2005 and opened his first Paris flagship in 2006. He received the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. Fashion and furniture remain connected parts of his independent design practice, while the Revillon appointment marks an important earlier chapter outside his own label. His continuous creative leadership at Rick Owens is distinct from the company’s ownership and operating management.
- Role
- Founder and Creative Director, Rick Owens
- Nationality
- American
- Age
- 63
- Career appointments
- 2
- Fashion houses
- 1
- Verified awards
- 2
- Active roles
- 2
- Paris Fashion Week: Schiaparelli ready to be worn, Rick Owens swaps black for stoneFashionNetwork · 2026-10-02
- Rick Owens Spring 2027: In This ColumnWWD · 2026-10-01
- Paris Fashion Week Runway Shoe Highlights: Saint Laurent, Dior, Rick Owens and MoreWWD · 2026-10-01
- Education: Otis College of Art and Design; pattern-cutting course at Los Angeles Trade-Technical CollegeCFDA records his art-school attendance, departure before completion and later pattern-cutting course. · CFDA
- Rick Owens: House identifies 1994 as its launch yearThe house’s 2023 retrospective confirms the label launch year. · Rick Owens
- New York runway: First Vogue-sponsored New York runway show in 2001CFDA’s biography dates the show and the move to Paris after Revillon’s appointment. · CFDA
- Revillon: Artistic Director, 2003–2005Palais Galliera’s exhibition dossier dates this role; no placeholder brand entity is created where the directory has no canonical Revillon record. · Palais Galliera
- Furniture: Introduced a furniture collection in 2005CFDA’s profile records the beginning of Owens’s furniture practice. · CFDA
- CFDA recognition: Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)The CFDA biography records the award year. · CFDA
- 1994 — Launches Rick Owens labelThe house dates the start of the independent label to 1994.
- 2001 — Presents first Vogue-sponsored New York runwayThe runway show precedes his move to Paris and later international recognition.
- 2003 — Appointed Artistic Director at RevillonOwens moves to Paris for the French house role, which he holds through 2005.
- 2005 — Introduces furniture collectionThe furniture practice begins under the creative supervision of Michèle Lamy.
- 2006 — Opens first Paris flagshipThe first Rick Owens flagship opens in Paris.
- 2017 — Receives CFDA Lifetime Achievement AwardThe CFDA recognizes Owens’s contribution to fashion design.
- 1994–Present — Creative Director — Rick OwensCurrent appointment · Rick Owens
- 1994–Present — Founder — Rick OwensCurrent appointment · Rick Owens
- 2019 — Rick Owens — Menswear Designer of the YearVerified fashion award
- 2017 — Rick Owens — Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement AwardVerified fashion award