Rick Owens is an American fashion designer. Owens grew up in a conservative Catholic home, raised by his Mexican mother and American father. That upbringing steeped him in the imagery of ritual and the solemnity of robes, which continues to be present in a lot of his collections.
After training at Otis College of Art and Design and learning the technical craft of fashion at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Owens built an empire defined by darkness, drapery, and defiance. His label has become synonymous with an aesthetic that is equal parts gothic and futuristic, daring people to see beauty where they least expect it.
Owens has also dared to be forthright about his sexuality in ways that remain rare in fashion. He is openly bisexual, and he made sure the world knew it. “In the beginning, I made a point of bringing up my sexuality because I wanted to do it before anyone else could”, he said in an interview.
I was with Michèle and hated the idea of someone whispering to her, ‘You know, I think your husband’s gay.’ I was going to say it first. I didn’t want anyone to think they could embarrass me, or Michèle.
Rather than allowing whispers or labels to define him, Owens named himself out loud.
His candidness has always been part of his charm. He has joked about wanting to sleep with Iggy Pop, and in an interview with BUTT Magazine, he admitted he once thought he would go through life “100% gay, without a steady relationship, but with a lot of sex”. Instead, life had other plans.
When he met French designer and creative force Michèle Lamy, everything changed. The two became inseparable, collaborators in both art and love, eventually marrying in 2006. Owens credits Lamy with showing him another dimension of himself: the ability to commit deeply and build a partnership that would last decades. Still, he never denied or erased his bisexuality. Even within the security of marriage, he has insisted on naming it, treating it as a vital part of who he is.
Owens refused to let his bisexuality be erased after he married. By openly calling himself bisexual, he claimed the word and gave it a place in an industry that celebrates queerness but too often forgets about bisexual identity. His work reflects this same refusal to choose one side over another. Owens blurs lines constantly: men in skirts, women in armor-like jackets, and bodies of all genders swathed in fabric that is simultaneously protective and vulnerable. The ambiguity and fluidity that define his designs echo in his own life. For Owens, rejecting binaries is not just about fashion.
His bisexuality is not an aside but a thread woven through the fabric of his life and work. Rick Owens is living proof that one can be wildly successful, fiercely authentic, and deeply in love without ever erasing the complexity of desire. He shows that bisexuality is not a compromise or a phase, but a part of brilliance, creativity, and selfhood. He is more than a designer; he is a #bicon who proves that refusing to fit into boxes is not only possible, but can also change the world.