Rick Owens Square CC Holder

Python is not a leather like other leathers. It is a scaled skin, so the surface is composed of individual overlapping scales rather than a continuous grain, and the pattern of those scales is the animal’s own markings rather than an applied finish. That means no two pieces are alike, the surface catches light in segments rather than as a plane, and the material has a hand that no calf or lamb can imitate.

It is also difficult to work. Scales lift at an edge if the skin is cut carelessly, so a python article has to be cut with the scale direction planned and finished so that every edge runs with the grain rather than against it. On something this small there is nowhere for an error to hide, which is why a card holder is a better test of leather work than a bag.

The format is deliberately plain: a square, six card slots, a centre pocket. Everything interesting is the material.

Why we selected it

A card holder is one of the few ways into this house that is not a garment, and that is most of why we took one. We took the python rather than a calf version precisely because it is the version that could not be anything else. It is also the object we most often see bought as a gift.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent python leather. Made in Italy, in Black. Square format, six card slots, centre slot.

Sizing and capacity

Six cards plus the centre slot. This is a card holder rather than a wallet: it does not take folded notes comfortably and it is not meant to.

How it is carried

In a jacket pocket or in a bag rather than a back trouser pocket, which is genuinely worth saying here. A scaled skin is not made for the constant flexing and compression a back pocket subjects a wallet to.

Care

Python needs different handling from a smooth leather, and the difference is worth reading before rather than after. Keep it dry, avoid water entirely, and never use a conventional leather conditioner or polish on it, since products formulated for grain leather can lift the scale edges. If a scale lifts, do not push it back with force. We do not recommend a treatment schedule and would rather look at the piece. Our care guidance has a section on exotic skins, and that is the one to read for this rather than the leather section.

Related pieces

For the bags in the same leather work, the Adri Bag, the Balloon Bag, and the Cerberus Bag. There is more on the house on the Rick Owens designer page. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.