Rick Owens F/W 25 Island Jacket

Camel hair is one of the few materials that is exactly what its name says and is almost never used as such. It is the undercoat of the Bactrian camel, collected as the animal moults rather than shorn, and it is finer than most sheep’s wool while being hollower in the fibre, which is why a camel hair garment is warm at a weight that does not feel like insulation. It is also softer than wool of comparable fineness and drapes with less spring, so it falls rather than stands.

The design is the same idea as the Island Coat and the opposite scale. Where the coat runs to the ankle, this ends at the waist, and the whole of the design is again the neckline: a square opening with the two front panels overlapping, held by two concealed buttons so nothing interrupts the front. There is no collar and no visible closure. It is a jacket built entirely out of one line and the way the cloth behaves when it crosses itself.

It comes from Concordians, the F/W 25 collection named for Concordia in the Veneto, where the house makes its clothes.

Why we selected it

Short jackets are hard to buy well, because most of them solve the length problem by adding detail, and this one solves it by removing all of it. We also wanted the Island neckline in something a customer would wear on a Tuesday. The ankle-length coat is a commitment; this is the same idea at a scale that goes over a knit and out the door. Camel hair at ninety-seven percent is the other reason. It is not a cloth we see often at this purity and it is a material that gets better as it softens.

Island is the house’s square-necked, overlapping line, and this is its shortest expression, drawn from the same pattern thinking as the ankle-length coats.

Materials and construction

Ninety-seven percent camel hair, three percent new wool, made in Italy, in black. Waist length, square overlapping neckline, two concealed buttons.

Fit notes

Waist length means it will end at or near your natural waist, and that is a proportion that depends entirely on the trouser it is worn with, so try it with a high rise before a low one. The overlapping front is what governs fit through the body rather than a fastening, so there is some tolerance there, and less in the shoulder. Camel hair relaxes and softens with wear, and it will not recover a stretched shape the way an elastic wool does, so hang it rather than folding it over a chair.

Styling

Over a fine cashmere knit and a wide black trouser. Because it ends at the waist, everything below it is doing half the work, so keep the trouser deliberate. It layers under a longer coat without bulk, which is what a camel hair jacket is unusually good at.

Care

Camel hair wants brushing and airing, not washing, and it does not want a hot press. Hang it on a shaped hanger with room, brush it down with a soft brush after wearing, and take it to a cleaner who is told what the fibre is. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Island Coat in wool and the Island Coat in double cashmere are the long versions of this neckline. The F/W 25 Shroud and the F/W 25 SL Flight Vest come from the same collection. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.