The temple of Edfu, located in Egypt, is the largest temple dedicated to Horus and Hathor of Dendera and was one of the main influences for Rick Owens’s SS23 collection.
Inspired by the life of Egypt’s cultural aesthetic, which remained for millennia despite the long passing of its creators, the designer further reflected on his place in fashion and brought these influences into a contemporary light. The result is a collection that blends soft translucid fabrics with harsh god-like shapes – like the upwards-turning shoulder designs drawn from the ceremonial garb of ancient Egyptas – as if evoking a deity through fashion.
The color palette ranges from dust-white to pitch-black. The sulfur yellow Rick Owens has introduced in past collections is mixed with the hottest of pinks, and full looks of oil-like iridescence garments make a pop. The presence of tulle worn as veils and dresses works as utilitarian wear that functions as a mosquito net.
“I had recently retreated to Egypt where I found great comfort in the remoteness and the scale of its history. My personal concerns and global discomforts felt petty in the face of that kind of timelessness. Lying down in the dirt in the valley of kings within view was a perspective I liked. The temples, started by one civilization, seized and added onto by another, completed by another, and then unearthed by yet others were reassuring in their stoic permanence.
We have all been so disturbed by the war and constant online stone throwing, I wanted to propose some order and discipline… I used some ripstop nylons that had a butterfly wing lightness with graph-like constructions that lent subtle soothing gridding on the body in dyneema, which is a patented fiber considered to be the strongest in the world.”
Rick Owens
