Rick Owens SS26 Sleeveless Turtleneck

A turtleneck with the sleeves removed is a stranger garment than it sounds, because the neck is the part that carries all the associations and the sleeves are the part that does the work. Take the sleeves away and you are left with a column of wool and a high collar, which reads as deliberate rather than as a sweater someone modified.

The relaxed cut is what makes it usable. A close sleeveless knit is a vest; this has enough ease through the body to go over a long-sleeved tee, which reverses the normal layering order and is the most useful thing about it. New wool at this weight has enough body to hold the neck upright without a facing, and enough warmth on its own that in a dry climate it works alone for a good part of the year.

Why we selected it

Sleeveless knitwear is a category most people ignore, and it is genuinely the most useful thing to own in a place with a forty degree daily temperature swing. Santa Fe is that place. This is the piece we reach for at five in the afternoon in October and we bought it because we wanted one.

The knitwear here is cut with the same interest in silhouette as the tailoring, and the sleeveless turtleneck is that logic applied to a wardrobe basic.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent new wool, made in Italy, in black. Sleeveless with a high neck and a relaxed fit.

Fit notes

Relaxed rather than close, so it will go over a long-sleeved tee or a fine knit without pulling. The high neck sits up on its own and does not need to be folded. Wool relaxes across a day with body heat and recovers when it rests, so a piece that feels correct in the morning and easier by evening is doing what wool does.

Styling

Over the Rib LS T or the Level T, which is the layering order this piece exists for. Over a shirt with the collar out. With black trousers.

Care

Wool wants airing far more than it wants washing, and it wants folding rather than hanging, because a knit on a hanger stretches at the shoulder. Hand wash cool with a wool detergent only when it genuinely needs it, then dry flat and reshape while damp. Our care guidance covers the general ground.

Related pieces

For the crew-neck knit from the same collection, the SS26 Biker Level. Underneath it, the Rib LS T. Over it, the F/W 25 Outershirt. Our note on the SS26 Temple collection is in the Library. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.