Rick Owens Island Coat – Double Cashmere

Double-faced cloth is the whole of this coat, and it is worth understanding before anything else about it. Most coats are two garments: an outer shell and a lining, joined at the edges, with the construction hidden between them. A double-faced cloth is woven as two layers held together by a fine binding thread. Split those layers apart at the hem, the cuff, and the front edge, and each one can be turned in and closed by hand, which means the coat has no lining, no interfacing, and no inside worth hiding. It also means every edge is hand finished, and there is no machine shortcut for that.

What you get for it is weight without stiffness. The coat hangs from the shoulder in a single fall to the ankle, and because there is no lining fighting the outer cloth, it moves as one thing. The square neck and the wrap closure are the whole of the design. There is no collar, no revere, no button stand, and nothing to catch the eye except the line the cloth makes when it falls.

We buy very few coats like this and this is the one we would defend without hesitation. Nothing on it is decorative. Everything that went into it went into the cloth and into the hand finishing the cloth requires, both of which are invisible at ten feet and obvious the moment you put it on. A customer who has worn one already knows. A customer who has not should try it on before deciding anything, and we would rather they did that than read another sentence from us about it.

Rick Owens is best known for leather and for drapery, and this coat is the quiet end of the same work: one line, no hardware, and all of the effort inside the cloth.

One hundred percent cashmere, made in Italy, in black. Ankle length, square neck, wrap closure. Double-faced cloth of this type is conventionally finished by hand at the edges and worn unlined, which is what gives it the drape it has.

Length is the thing to try. This falls to the ankle, and an ankle-length coat behaves very differently on different heights: it either reads as a column or it reads as a coat that is too long, and there is no middle position. The wrap closure means the fit through the body is adjustable within a range, so the size question is really about shoulder and length rather than about waist. Unlined coats sit closer than lined ones, so allow for what you intend to wear underneath. We do not hold measurements for it, and would far rather you came in or called.

Over almost nothing, which is the point of a coat with this much presence. A fine knit and a narrow trouser underneath, in black or in something quiet. It will take one of the cashmere sweaters here without crowding. It will not take a bulky sweater, and it does not want a scarf competing at the neck.

Cashmere of this weight wants brushing and airing far more than it wants cleaning, and hand finished edges are the first thing a careless press will ruin, so use a cleaner who is told what the coat is before it goes in. Hang it on a broad shaped hanger with room around it. Our care guidance covers cashmere in more detail.

The Island Coat is the same silhouette in wool, and the F/W 25 Island Jacket is the short version of the same neckline in camel hair. For the same double cashmere cut as a jacket, the Lido Jacket. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.