Rick Owens Chalice Dress

Celadon is the first thing to say. It is a pale grey-green named for a glaze, and it is nearly the opposite of what this house is known for, which is exactly why it is worth attention. A colour this soft on a shape this severe produces a tension that neither would have alone: the cut-outs and the asymmetric hem read as architecture, and the colour refuses to let them read as gothic.

The hem is high at the front and low behind, which is a shape that has to be drafted rather than trimmed. It changes as the wearer moves, showing the leg at the front and trailing behind, and it means the dress looks entirely different standing still and walking. The cut-outs are placed rather than scattered, and the self-tie at the waist means the wearer sets the volume rather than the pattern setting it.

This is a summer dress in a house that does not make many, and it was the piece from Spring 2025 we most enjoyed carrying.

The colour. We are careful with pale colours because they do not always sell in a store where most of the rail is dark, and we took this one anyway because a customer who has bought four black Owens pieces eventually wants the fifth to surprise her. The self-tie is the practical second reason: it fits a range of bodies honestly, which matters on a dress with cut-outs.

One hundred percent cotton. Made in Italy, in Celadon. High-low hem, body cut-outs, self-tie waist. From Spring/Summer 2025.

A self-tie waist adjusts, and cut-outs do not, so the placement of the openings is the fit to judge rather than the waist. Cotton with no elastane in it has no stretch to rely on and will soften rather than grow. High-low hems are drafted to a length and cannot be altered without redrawing the curve.

With a flat sandal in the day and a heavier shoe in the evening, which is a shift the high-low hem takes easily. Celadon against bone, against grey, or against black leather. We would keep jewellery minimal, since the cut-outs are already deciding where the eye goes.

Wash cool and dry flat, and store the dress flat or on a padded hanger so the cut-outs do not stretch on a wire shoulder. A pale cotton wants washing more often than a dark one and at a lower temperature, and celadon in particular will go grey rather than fade if it is washed with anything dark. Keep it out of a hot dryer. Our care guidance covers cotton in detail.

The Arrowhead Gown is the cotton jersey piece at length, the Athena Dress the close-cut one, and the SS26 Temple Gown the formal one. There is more on the house on the Rick Owens designer page. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.