Rick Owens in Paris is not only a tale of fashion but a living example of The Hero’s Journey – a model that explores how we craft meaning, identity, and transformation through the narratives we choose to live. Unlike conventional success stories, Owens’ path reveals how a powerful story is composed through deliberate choices, invitations, challenges, and relationships, all culminating in transformation and legacy.
Earlier this year, his immersive exhibition at Palais de Tokyo gave visitors a rare glimpse into this narrative architecture, inviting us to reflect on how Owens intentionally shaped his creative identity amidst the complexities of Paris and the wider fashion world.
The Invitation: Responding to a Call Beyond Convention
Every story begins with an invitation, a call that shifts the trajectory of life. For Rick Owens, that call came from deep within the margins of his world in Porterville, California. Surrounded by the stark desert and the homogenized fashions of mainstream America, Owens was invited—some would say compelled—to redefine what fashion could be. His early life whispered a challenge: to reject the comfortable and seek a language that expressed raw contradiction and hidden beauty.
The invitation was never to create what was expected but to embrace what was authentic and unsettling. This formative invitation set the stage for what would become years of rigorous exploration and refusal to conform.
The Choice: Becoming the Architect of Identity
The power of story lies in choice. Owens made a defining choice to commit to his vision even when the world did not understand it. Moving to Paris in the early 2000s, a city synonymous with tradition and elegance, was itself a conscious leap—a choice to be an outsider who could remake the fashion narrative rather than simply join it.
In Paris, Owens consciously chose to become the architect of his own story, crafting an aesthetic steeped in shadow, minimalism, and brutal beauty. This choice to live an unyielding narrative of authenticity—refusing trends, logos, and marketing gloss—illustrates the power he claimed over his creative identity. The story he told himself became his currency, and Paris was both stage and collaborator.
The Challenge: Embracing Complexity and Controversy
No story worth telling is without conflict. Owens’ journey in Paris was marked by persistent challenges that tested his resilience and commitment. The fashion industry’s demand for novelty and conformity clashed with Owens’ refusal to dilute his vision. His runway shows, often accompanied by stirring performances and provocative imagery, triggered criticism and fascination alike.
Owens embraced these challenges—of cultural expectations, commercial pressures, and public scrutiny—not as barriers but as vital forces shaping his narrative. The challenge was to hold complexity without fragmentation, to remain true without isolation. This tension—the willingness to be misunderstood while refining one’s own message—is the crucible where story power is forged.
Allies: The Circle of Trust and Creation
A powerful story is never told alone. Integral to Owens’ evolution has been the alliance with Michèle Lamy, whose role as muse, partner, and co-creator provided both inspiration and grounding. Together, they formed a creative nexus that extended into the workshops, runways, and performance spaces of Paris, creating a tribe that supported the unfolding narrative.
This circle of trust included artisans, dancers, sound designers, and an alternative community in Paris that embraced the risk of new expression. Their loyalty and shared vision amplified Owens’ story, showing how allies are essential characters in one’s personal and professional narrative.
Transformation: Becoming a Myth-Maker of Modern Fashion
The true power of a story comes in transformation—the moment when the protagonist moves beyond struggle to reveal a new form of selfhood and meaning. Owens’ 2025 Palais de Tokyo exhibition crystallized this transformation, presenting not only collections but an immersive environment that felt like stepping into his mythic world.
His work transcended fabric and form to become existential commentary on beauty, decay, and renewal. The transformation was ontological: Owens was no longer just a designer but a myth-maker, weaving narratives that challenge traditional aesthetics and invite us to reconsider identity, gender, and mortality.
His story showed that powerful transformation is not about external approval but internal coherence—a vision realized through sustained courage and creative rigor.
Legacy: Offering the Elixir to the Creative World
In storytelling, legacy is the elixir brought back to the community—a gift distilled from experience and transformation. Owens’ legacy in Paris is the courage to live one’s story fully and defiantly, to find beauty in darkness and embrace complexity without apology.
The legacy extends beyond fashion. It invites creators, entrepreneurs, and individuals to recognize their power in shaping their narratives, to see challenges as story moments, and to claim authenticity as their greatest asset. Owens’ story is a beacon for those ready to step into their own authorship.
Lessons from Rick Owens through the Lens of Your Story Power
- Invite Your Inner Truth: Like Owens, listen for the calls beneath the noise. What is your authentic summons?
- Make Conscious Choices: Own the decisions that shape your identity—these are milestones of your narrative.
- Lean into Challenge: See obstacles as story elements that deepen meaning and test resolve.
- Build Your Circle: Cultivate allies who support and co-create your journey.
- Embrace Transformation: Seek growth as integration, not conformity—your unique myth.
- Share Your Elixir: Offer your story’s lessons back to the world as inspiration and change.
Walking Rick Owens’ Paris: A Reflective Story Tour with Timeline
For travelers seeking to deepen their own story power inspired by Owens, this curated walking tour through Paris invites reflection and discovery:
10:00 AM — Palais de Tokyo (13 Avenue du Président Wilson)
Enter the sacred space of Owens’ 2025 exhibition. Spend about 90 minutes immersed in the sculptures, installations, and garments. Reflect: What personal myth am I ready to build?
11:30 AM — Walk to Le Marais District (Rue des Francs Bourgeois)
Enjoy a 30-minute walk to Le Marais, a vibrant creative enclave where Owens found his tribe and early acceptance.
12:00 PM — Le Marais District Exploration
Spend 60 minutes wandering galleries, boutiques, and narrow streets steeped in artistic energy. Ask: Where do I find my tribe?
1:00 PM — Lunch Break
Take a 60-minute lunch in one of the cafés in Le Marais or nearby, soaking up the atmosphere and processing your reflections.
2:00 PM — Galerie Perrotin (76 Rue de Turenne)
Visit this influential gallery for around 45 minutes to contemplate the intersection of Owens’ vision with the Parisian avant-garde. Reflect on: How do I handle critique and misunderstanding?
2:45 PM — Walk to Café de Flore (172 Boulevard Saint-Germain)
Walk 25 minutes through Saint-Germain-des-Prés to Café de Flore, a historic creative hub.
3:10 PM — Café de Flore Reflection
Spend 40 minutes in contemplation or journaling. Reflect: Who mentors and challenges my story?
3:50 PM — Walk to Palais Royal Gardens
A 15-minute walk takes you to these peaceful gardens.
4:05 PM — Palais Royal Gardens Meditation
Spend 30 minutes contemplating cycles of renewal, growth, and decay. Consider: What cycles shape my current journey?
4:35 PM — Walk to Hôtel Amour (8 Rue de Navarin)
Walk 20 minutes to end your day in this bohemian, creative hotspot.
5:00 PM — Hôtel Amour Closing Reflection
Spend 45 minutes here, reflecting on risk-taking and boundary pushing. Ask: Where can I push my boundaries and embrace risk in my own story?
5:45 PM — End of Tour
Invitation to Craft Your Own Story
Inspired by Rick Owens’ story power? Peter de Kuster invites creative entrepreneurs and storytellers to co-create their narratives with him through two options:
- Online Story Coaching: Three personalized sessions for €495 (excl. VAT) to unlock your unique narrative strength remotely.
- One Day Paris Story Tour: An intimate private tour experience for €995 per person exploring key Parisian sites linked to Owens and other mythic creators, combined with transformative storytelling coaching.
Both journeys offer practical and personal frameworks to harness the power of your story as a catalyst for creativity and impact.
Your Tour Guide
Peter de Kuster is the founder of The Heroine’s Journey & Hero’s Journey project, a storytelling firm which helps creative professionals to create careers and lives based on whatever story is most integral to their lives and careers (values, traits, skills and experiences). Peter’s approach combines in-depth storytelling and marketing expertise, and for over 20 years clients have found it effective with a wide range of creative business issues.
Peter is writer of the series The Heroine’s Journey and Hero’s Journey books, he has an MBA in Marketing, MBA in Financial Economics and graduated at university in Sociology and Communication Sciences.
The Hero's Journey in Paris 