Rick Owens Abito – Taco Gown

Velvet is a construction, not a fibre: a pile fabric with cut loops standing up from the ground weave, which is what produces the depth of colour and the way the surface changes as it turns in light. Most evening velvet is silk or silk-backed and behaves stiffly. This one is a viscose and silk blend, which gives it the fluid weight that lets a full-length gown fall in a straight line from a single shoulder rather than holding itself away from the body.

The construction is deliberately spare for something this dramatic. One shoulder, an open side, and ties doing the work that a zip would do in a conventional gown. That means the wearer sets the fit and the reveal, and it means the garment has almost no internal structure at all: no boning, no built-in support, nothing imposing a shape. What holds it up is the cut and the weight of the cloth.

Black velvet is the most photographed material there is and the least forgiving to make. It shows every seam, every pressing error, and every fault in the pile. That this reads clean is the whole craft argument.

A full-length gown is a real commitment for a store our size and we buy one rarely. We took this because it is the version that will still be correct in fifteen years, and because the tie closures mean it can be worn by more than one body honestly. It has also, plainly, been worn by a number of people who could have chosen anything, which is not why we bought it but is not nothing.

Eighty-two percent viscose and eighteen percent silk, in velvet. Made in Italy, in Black. One shoulder, full length, open side, tie closures.

Ties adjust and a single shoulder does not, so the shoulder is the fit to judge. There is no built-in support. Velvet in a fluid blend hangs long and will lengthen slightly under its own weight when worn, which is normal and is worth allowing for when deciding on a hem.

With a heel, and with the hair up so the shoulder reads. Nothing at the neck. If it needs an outer layer, a long coat rather than a short jacket, because anything cropped fights a full-length line.

Velvet should never be pressed flat, since heat and pressure crush the pile permanently, and this is one of the few garments where steaming from the reverse while hanging is genuinely the correct method. Dry clean with a cleaner who is told it is velvet. Store it hanging with space around it. Our care guidance covers the general principles.

We would point to the Knee Bias Skirt in the same viscose-silk, the Athena Dress, and the Abito In Maglia - Column Dress. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.