How to Care for Your Rick Owens Pieces: Leather, Cotton, and Drape Fabrics
So you’ve finally bought the jacket. It might have been a leather biker you spent months saving for, a heavy cotton hoodie you scored during a Rick Owens sale, or a draped tunic pricier than a month’s rent. No matter the piece, you now own a garment that repays a bit of know-how and penalizes neglect. Rick Owens pieces aren’t delicate in the high-maintenance sense, yet they’re built from materials that act in particular ways, and handling them like everyday clothes is how people destroy expensive items. Happily, looking after them is mostly a matter of restraint and a few easy habits. This guide walks through the three fabric families you are most likely to own. Master these basics and your pieces will survive longer than almost everything else you own.
Leather: The Investment That Asks the Least of You
Leather scares people, but a Rick Owens leather jacket is honestly one of the easiest things in your closet to maintain. The label favors lamb and calf nappa, now and then washed or blistered for that broken-in look, and these leathers are happiest left mostly undisturbed. Never machine wash leather and never dry clean it on a whim; a true leather specialist, not a corner dry cleaner, is the only person who should ever treat a stain. Clear surface dust using a faintly damp cloth and allow it to air dry clear of radiators, as direct heat cracks the grain for good. Feed the leather once or twice a year using a neutral, brand-safe balm, applied in a thin layer and buffed off after twenty minutes. Hang the jacket on a broad wooden or padded hanger so the shoulders hold their shape, never on a flimsy wire one. Handled this way, a $4,000 leather jacket readily survives fifteen to twenty years and looks better still as the patina develops.
Coping with Rain and Scuffs
Though water is leather’s silent enemy, it stays manageable when you act sensibly. Should you get caught in the rain, don’t panic and don’t blast the jacket with a hairdryer; simply hang it at room temperature and let it dry gradually over a day or two. When it’s rick owens paris fashion week dry, a quick coat of conditioner replaces the oils the water stripped and wards off stiffness. Small scuffs on washed nappa often buff out with nothing more than your fingertip and the natural warmth of your hand. You can sometimes rub deeper scratches into fading a bit, yet Rick Owens leather is built to reveal character, so don’t chase perfection. Wipe salt stains from winter pavements away promptly using a barely damp cloth before they set. The guiding idea here is gentle and slow, perfectly matching the worn-in aesthetic the brand prizes anyway.
Cotton: The DRKSHDW Workhorses, Hoodies, and Tees
The cotton pieces, especially anything from DRKSHDW, are where most owners do the most damage through simple overconfidence. The heavyweight jersey Rick Owens hoodie seems indestructible, but hot water and rough drying shrink it, wash out the dye, and ruin the meticulously engineered drape. Always wash cotton garments inside out in cold water, ideally around 30 degrees Celsius, on a gentle cycle with a mild detergent. Leave out the fabric softener completely, since it coats the fibers and dulls the matte texture that gives these pieces their character. Skip the tumble dryer entirely and hang the garment to air dry, which preserves both the dye and the lengthened proportions the design hinges on. Laundering it less often than you’d expect is truly the smarter move, as over-washing is the fastest way to a tired-looking hoodie. Observe these rules and a $600 hoodie holds its premium appearance for years rather than mere months.
| Fabric | Wash Method | Drying | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leather (nappa) | Spot clean only / specialist | Air dry, no heat | Condition 1–2x per year |
| Cotton jersey | Cold, inside out, gentle | Hang air dry | Every 4–6 wears |
| Drape / viscose blends | Hand wash or dry clean | Flat dry, reshape | As needed only |
| Waxed denim | Cold, rarely, inside out | Hang air dry | Every 8–10 wears |
Drape Fabrics: Where Patience Pays Off
Drape pieces, the flowing tunics, asymmetric skirts, and pooled-hem tops, are the trickiest of the trio because their fabric content shifts and the cut is everything. Lots of drape garments rely on viscose, rayon, cupro, or silk blends that lose their form if handled carelessly, so read the care label before you do anything. If you’re unsure, hand wash in cold water with a small amount of delicate detergent, swishing softly instead of wringing or twisting. Press the water out by laying the garment flat between two towels, then dry it flat and reshape it by hand while damp. Hanging up a heavy, wet drape piece stretches it unevenly and may permanently warp that carefully considered silhouette. For anything you are nervous about, a reputable dry cleaner experienced with designer garments is money well spent. The drape is the reason you bought it, so preserving it is the whole point.
Storage and Everyday Habits
How you store these clothes between wears matters almost as much as how you clean them. Leave your pieces some breathing space in the closet, since packing them tightly creases the drape and flattens the structured shoulders on jackets. Choose padded or broad wooden hangers for outerwear, and fold heavy knits and hoodies rather than hanging them, because hanging stretches the neckline over time. Store everything away from direct sunlight, which bleaches the signature blacks and dusts into patchy grays surprisingly quickly. A breathable cotton garment bag shields leather and drape pieces from dust without sealing in moisture like plastic does. When storing for the season, clean the garments first, since body oils and unseen stains draw moths and set permanently over the months. Such little habits are free and tack years of life onto truly expensive clothes.
Common Mistakes That Wreck Good Pieces
Most damage to Rick Owens garments comes from a short list of avoidable errors, and knowing them in advance saves a lot of heartache. Top of the list is tossing a heavy hoodie into a hot load with everything else, shrinking the cotton and bleeding the careful dye in a single wash. Not far behind is putting knits and jersey on narrow hangers, which warps the shoulders into permanent lumps that no laundering fixes. Many folks like to „freshen up” leather using household wipes or alcohol-based cleaners, which remove the natural oils and turn the hide dry and cracked inside months. Pressing drape fabrics on high heat is another classic blunder, crushing texture and at times scorching delicate viscose blends past saving. Storing clean-looking but unwashed garments over a season invites moths to feast on invisible body oils. Finally, obsessing over every small scuff or fade misses the point of a label that prizes a worn, lived-in patina. Steer clear of these six habits and you’ve already handled eighty percent of the work.
When to Call a Professional
Knowing your limits is part of caring for luxury garments well. Any structural fix, a ripped lining, a dying zipper, a burst seam on a leather jacket, calls for a specialist instead of a sewing kit and good intentions. Rick Owens retailers and the brand’s own service channels can frequently guide you on repairs, and the official site at rickowens.eu is the proper starting point for questions about a particular garment. When it comes to deep stains on leather or drape fabrics, skip the home remedies you find online and turn to a cleaner who specifically handles designer pieces. The cost of a professional clean is trivial compared with replacing a four-figure garment you damaged trying to save twenty dollars. Industry guides at publications such as Highsnobiety regularly address designer garment care should you want to read more. By 2026, with the brand’s resale values remaining robust, well-maintained pieces are genuinely worth more too if you ever decide to sell. Regard the clothes as the long-term investments they truly are, and they’ll repay you for it.