Towards the end of this year, Dune: Part Three will hit cinemas. When it does, no designer will be better prepared for the press tour than Rick Owens. Although we lost Austin Butler’s character in the second movie, the bald-headed Harkonnen villain was resurrected today during Owens’ AW26 menswear show. 

Hosted, as usual, inside the French capital’s Palais de Tokyo, guests entered to discover a room filled with smoke and illuminated by light beams. That being said, in comparison to the designer’s previous shows, this was a significantly pared-back set. For example, models often have to navigate the looming stairs outside the venue, or wade through the water fountain – all in sky-high platform boots. 

This show, however, stripped back the spectacle and zoomed in on technical materials and abstract outerwear. Models emerged through the smoke to the sounds of ambient music, like we were witnessing extraterrestrial beings taking a stroll on the moon. As expected from a Rick Owens show, there was a lot of leather – this season, in the form of heavy-duty jackets, mini boleros and predictably big boots. 

Owens stayed loyal to his usual stoney colour palette, made up of black, grey, beige, and earthy tones, with dramatic floor-length headdresses appearing in each shade. At times, the models used their hands to part the headdresses so they could see where they were going (Owens loves to give them a challenge). 

Though he’s a designer with an incredibly distinct aesthetic, Owens managed to keep us guessing with each look. Shearlings came billowing out from underneath coats; stiff, structural collars stood alert, and shoulder pads became abstract art pieces. Imagine a movie where Dune meets The Matrix, but it takes place in the world of The Abominable Snowman – that was Rick Owens men’s AW26.

Scroll through the gallery above to see all the looks from the show