Rick Owens Abito – Skorpio Tank Dress

The seam down the back is the signature and it is worth understanding why it exists. A conventional tank dress is cut in the round with the seams at the sides, and there is nothing at the centre back at all. Splitting the back and seaming it down the spine adds a construction step nobody needs, and what it buys is a line: a vertical that follows the wearer's own spine, lengthening the body and giving a garment with no other feature an axis.

The rib does the rest. A fine rib contracts widthwise, so the dress holds close and returns to shape, and the vertical columns of the knit repeat the line of that centre seam all the way around the body.

Semi-sheer is a deliberate specification rather than a compromise on weight. This is drafted as a layering piece, meant to go over or under something, and the transparency is what makes that work. Worn alone it is a considerably bolder garment than it appears on a hanger.

Cardinal Red in a fine viscose-silk rib has a depth that a cotton could not reach, because silk takes dye with more saturation than any other common fibre.

We wanted a piece from this house that could be layered rather than worn as an event, and the tank dress is the one that does the most work for the least effort. The red is the reason we took this rather than the black: it is the piece that changes an outfit rather than completing one.

Eighty-eight percent viscose and twelve percent silk, in a fine rib. Made in Italy, in Cardinal Red. Mid length, high neckline, thin straps, centre seam down the back, semi-sheer.

A fine rib fits close and stretches considerably across the body, so it will look much narrower on a hanger than it wears. It is semi-sheer, which is worth knowing before it arrives. Take your usual size; the rib does the rest.

Over a long-sleeved tee or under an oversized knit, which is what the semi-sheerness is for. On its own with a boot for the direct version. Cardinal Red against black is the intended reading and against brown leather is the better one.

Hand wash cool and dry flat, reshaping while damp. Never hang a fine rib wet, since it will lengthen under the weight of the water. A saturated red will lose colour to heat. Our care guidance covers the general principles.

We would point to the Abito - Tank Mini Dress, which is the same cloth at a shorter length, the Tank Dress, and the Gonna - Edfu Skirt in the same Cardinal Red. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.