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Giant Sculpture of Designer Rick Owens Lands at Selfridges
A former Madame Tussauds sculptor made the 25-foot-tall statue.
Christie Chu
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Cult designer and renaissance man Rick Owens will open his new concept store in Selfridges London with a monumental, 25-foot-tall sculpture of his unclothed torso by figurative sculptor and long-time collaborator Douglas Jennings. Based in the UK, Jennings’ works can be found worldwide from the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, among other places. He honed his skill at exactingly realistic sculpture as a senior sculptor at the London branch of Madame Tussauds.
The gigantic statue will be wedged into the front of the mega retailer this weekend, reports the Telegraph. Although this may be seen as an egomaniac’s gesture, anyone who has met Owens would argue the opposite. An only child of a social worker father and school teacher mother, Owens grew up with humble beginnings in Porterville, California. After studying to be a painter at Los Angeles’s Otis College of Art and Design, he later switched to study pattern-making, a career move which led him to meet his future wife, muse, and business partner, Michèle Lamy.
Photo: @Bullettmagazine
Images of the sculpture show an uncanny resemblance to the real-life Owens—a muscular body, prominent nose, pursed lips, and long, silky hair. Known mainly for his drop-crotch shorts, long black T-shirts, slick leather jackets, and distinct high-top sneakers, Owens has formalized a uniform for those wishing to appear unconventional and somewhat agonized. However, his creative reach doesn’t stop at the sewing machine. Owens also designs Brutalist, asymmetrical, and avant-garde furniture—themes which recur in all aspects of his life—and is also an avid art collector. A tour of his Paris apartment with the Wall Street Journal shows marble sculptures by Barry X Ball, a work by Horst Egon Kalinowski, an antique urn by Georges Hoentschel, and a wall fresco by Scarlett Rouge.
His residence is also decked out in his own unique furniture designs. The collection stays within his usual color palate of black and white, with all the mixes in between. You can find chairs made of petrified wood or ox bone, and beds made of alabaster or cashmere felt. These items can be purchased at Salon 94 or Galerie Pierre-Marie Giraud. Owens completists looking to acquire Jennings’ giant likeness of the designer may be out of luck, though; as far as we know, it’s not for sale.
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