How do Rick Owens shoes fit, why are his shoes so expensive, and most importantly: who is Rick Owens?

Even if you’re not a fashion connoisseur, by now you might have heard of Rick Owens, whose designs are ubiquitous in fashion capitals but easy to miss to the untrained eye.

Born in Porterville, California, Richard Saturnino Owens moved to Los Angeles after high school to study fine art at the Otis College of Art and Design. After two years he dropped out to take pattern-making and draping courses at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.

 

 

 

In 1994, Owens launched his eponymous fashion line on Hollywood Boulevard. Today, he is one of the most innovative and radical designers on the contemporary fashion scene, discussed and appraised globally for his dark, “glunge” (glamour and grunge) aesthetic.

Who Is Rick Owens

Pleats and draperies, deconstructed garments and avant-garde designs—this is what Rick Owens’ unique fashion world is made of.

“The clothes I make are my autobiography,” Owens stated at the Milan Triennale in 2018. “They are the calm elegance I want to get to and the damage I’ve done on the way. They are an expression of tenderness and raging ego. They are an adolescent idealization and its inevitable defeat.”

Decades after the debut of his distinctive clothing line, Owens has achieved cult status while staying true to his vision. “As time passes,” he told Vogue, “I want to become more and more Rick Owens.”

 

 

 

Given his worldwide success, Owens has expanded into furniture, offering a collection of prehistoric-looking, brutalist chairs, tables, and decorative objects. Crafted in materials such as petrified wood, alabaster, and bronze, his pieces are more like sculptures than traditional furniture. The collection was exhibited in the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

With his diffusion line DRKSHDW, a.k.a. Dark Shadow, Owens offers a gentler, less radical, and more accessible entry point to his aesthetic. The most popular items of the line, comprised of streetwear-oriented staples, are the iconic black and white sneakers. Sleek and elegant, they’re a more practical way to wear Rick than the designer’s main line of abstract and conceptual garments.

How do Rick Owens shoes fit?

The footwear collection includes high-end women’s and men’s sneakers, sandals, and boots. One of the most popular Rick Owens models is the Ramones sneaker from the DRKSHDW line, a shoe that closely resembles classic Converse All-Stars sneakers.

 

 

Rick Owens shoes generally fit true to size. 

Here is what you need to know before investing in a pair:

• The main line and DRKSHDW shoes come in half sizes (men’s US 5 to US 13, women’s US 4 to US 12).
• Some models (e.g. the “TURBODRK” Chuck 70 and the Geobasket sneakers) feature a square toe, which means they fit wide in the toe box – if you have narrow feet, we recommend going half a size smaller.
• All of the designer’s shoes follows EU sizing – however, on the brand’s website, you can find a helpful size chart. If you’re still unsure, read our shoe size conversion article.

Why are his shoes so expensive?

The main line shoes range from $250 for a pair of Veja hiking shoes to $5000 for the Phlegethon thigh high boots, while the DRKSHDW collection ranges from $285 for the Creatch slides to $2000 for the Beatle Abstract sneakers. Why so pricey, you ask?

 

 

Rick Owens shoes are expensive for a few reasons:

• Each pair is made in Italy in the designer’s own factory, located in Concordia, Modena. 
• The footwear collections are crafted in the finest materials: supple calf leather, lamb leather, real cow fur, as well as an assortment of sustainable materials, such as recycled vinyl, organic cotton, and rice waste.
• Most designs use multiple pieces of leather and patterns, which adds complexity to production processes and materials sourcing.
• They are extremely durable. They are made to last years in your wardrobe, so we believe they are an investment worth making.

Although his shoes may be pricey, we constantly have the best pricing offer in the market. Explore our large selection of Rick Owens shoes for women and men.

About the Author

Alex English is the Head of Content Marketing at italist.com, building on a lifelong passion for fashion and luxury. After publishing a lifestyle blog for nearly ten years and obtaining an MBA in Milan at SDA Bocconi, one of Europe’s top business schools, he joined the italist team in 2019. His work since then has focused on upper-funnel messaging, brand storytelling, establishing italist as a thought leader in the space, and enriching the customer experience on the platform. Find him on LinkedIn.