When one thinks of the Ballet Russes, so frequently mined in fashion, most memorably by Yves Saint Laurent in his spring 1976 couture collection, one imagines a sniewy, androgynous creature. So when Rick Owens mentioned Nijinsky’s “l’Après-Midi d’un Faune” as inspiration, it was a surprise to see how he brought this into his own, more substantial, chunkier, men’s wear. As usual, the first look said the most: a stiff, bleached denim tunic with geometric seaming and hem destruction over huge, stand-away black shorts and the best shoe collaboration: a rubbery, pinched-together, boot in pewter metallic or matte white with a squishy Adidas Springblade sole.

The tunics gradually became dress-like and some of Owens’ fauns were sprayed head to toe in the collection’s clay colors. There was little distinction between jackets and coats here; a reminder of the simplified, multipurpose way men dress today. Mid-show, Owens turned into a sculptor, twisting fabric around the body in proper faun mode, but he was soon back to tunics, mixing leather and silky fabric color blocks. One-shoulder chest harnesses were warrior-like, and the full body embroideries on color block coats were marvelous flights of fancy. RV

Images by Valerio Mezzanotti