Brutalism and honesty at the home of Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy.
It’s not easy, if at all possible, to separate Rick Owens the being from Rick Owens the brand. A similar notion applies to his surrounds. For this designer of uncompromised vision, creative expression is synonymous with living.
Rick Owens and his partner, multi-hyphenate creator Michèle Lamy – whom he calls Hun, as annotation to the following – reside at the former headquarters of the French Socialist Party on Paris’s Place du Palais Bourbon. After moving from L.A. to the French capital Owens and Lamy assumed ownership of the space in 2004, seeing potential in its bones. On excavation they made, in Owens’ words, something “eternal”. Raw, yes, but instilled with life.
Along with the wearables the brand is best known for, Owens and Lamy create furniture – you’ve possibly seen their deliciously monolithic platform bed rendered in Spanish alabaster – and a curation is present at their Palais Bourbon home. “What [is] there,” Owens tells, “is my attempt at something graceful in a brutalist way.”
True to Owens’ aesthetic sensibility, we asked him about his home and he replied in all caps. We have left his answers as such; we would never wish to dilute it.
How does your home enable your purpose?
I HAVE ALWAYS WORKED WHERE I LIVE SO THERE IS NO SEPARATION BETWEEN LIVING AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION FOR ME.
What was most important to you in creating this space?
I WANTED SOMETHING THAT FELT GENTLE, ETERNAL, AND RAW.
"I WANT TO LEAD AN HONEST AND HONOURABLE LIFE."
How does it lend to the way you want to live?
I WANT TO LEAD AN HONEST AND HONOURABLE LIFE.
How would you describe its aesthetic?
A CONCRETE SPACESHIP.
Are there any pieces within your Palais Bourbon home that hold particular sentimental value for you? If so, could you tell us about them?
I COMMISSIONED THE WALL MURAL FROM HUN’S DAUGHTER AS A SURPRISE GIFT FOR HUN. THAT REALLY SETS THE TONE FOR THE HOUSE.
Please tell us about the pieces you designed …
THERE ARE FEW OF OUR PIECES IN THE HOUSE BUT WHAT [IS] THERE IS MY ATTEMPT AT SOMETHING GRACEFUL IN A BRUTALIST WAY.
What do you collect?
JUGENDSTIL.
Where in your home do you go to think, or be inspired?
OUT ON OUR BIG TERRACE UNDER THE TREES.
How often do you redecorate?
NEVER. I STICK TO MY DECISIONS AND DON’T NEED THAT MUCH STIMULATION
