Rick Owens Athena Dress

The one-shouldered dress is one of the oldest shapes there is and one of the most frequently ruined. It goes wrong when the asymmetry is treated as a decoration applied to a symmetrical dress, which produces a garment that looks as though something has slipped. It goes right when the whole pattern is redrawn around a single point of support, so the drape falls diagonally across the body and every seam acknowledges that the weight is being carried on one side.

That is what has happened here, and it is why the dress reads as classical rather than as party wear. The name is doing honest work for once: a single shoulder, a body wrapped on the bias of the shape, a slit that functions as much as it flatters.

Viscose and polyester together give the jersey its two necessary properties. Viscose supplies the fluid weight and the way the cloth follows the body, and the polyester supplies the recovery, so a close dress carried on one shoulder does not migrate over an evening. That is not a glamorous blend and it is the correct one.

Why we selected it

We wanted one dress in the store that could be worn to something formal and would not date, and a one-shouldered column in black jersey is about as close to permanent as clothing gets. The slit is the reason we chose this one over the alternatives: it is placed to let a person walk properly, which is a lower bar than it should be in this category.

Materials and construction

Sixty-eight percent viscose and thirty-two percent polyester. Made in Italy, in Black. One shoulder, form-fitting, slit at the leg.

Fit notes

Close-fitting, and carried on one shoulder, which means the fit through the bust and the shoulder is the whole fit. Jersey of this blend has good recovery and will not stretch out over an evening. A one-shouldered cut rules out most conventional underwear at the top, which is worth knowing before it is on.

Styling

With a heel and nothing at the neck. Under a leather jacket it becomes a very different and much better evening. We would resist a necklace; the bare shoulder is the design.

Care

Hand wash cool or dry clean, dry flat, and reshape while damp. Do not hang a jersey dress wet, since the weight of the water will pull it out of shape at the shoulder, which on this cut is the one place it cannot recover. Our care guidance covers the general principles.

Related pieces

We would point to the Abito In Maglia – Column Dress, the Abito – Taco Gown, and the Arrowhead Gown. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.