Rick Owens Launches “Stripped-Down" SS20 Champion Campaign

First seen on the runway during Paris Fashion Week, Rick Owens has now officially launched his expansive, inaugural Champion collaboration for Spring/Summer 2020. A host of the American heritage label’s signature styles, including Reverse Weave hoodies and basketball shorts, are transformed in Owens’ image, described by the designer himself as “stripped-down togas, loincloths and robes.”

Select stores received the goods last month, but Owens is rolling out thematic imagery showcasing models layered up in the progressive garments. Champion’s sporty mesh, usually seen on jerseys and basketball shorts, now graces robe-like coats, tunic shirts and tiny loincloth-inspired skirts, alongside more conventional goods like hoodies and T-shirts. Similarly, Champion’s Reverse Weave textile informs both dramatically-revamped styles, including a lengthy pullover with between-the-legs snap closure, and accessible items like a zippered hoodie, all emblazoned with a co-branded star graphic indebted to Owens’ DRKSHDW sub-label branding.

The co-branding holds special meaning to Owens, who reportedly took cues from Champion’s script logo for his own mainline branding. “When I started my label in the Nineties,” he told WWD, “I hand-drew my logo as a cross between the Champion logo and a Jean Patou perfume label. They both had a similar vintage calligraphic flair.”

The collaborative Champion items are available at Rick Owens’ web store and stockists like SSENSE.

Most recently, DRKSHDW introduced a striking orange-tinged Bauhaus sneaker.