Three helmets from American designer Rick Owens’ collection feature single and dual strobe lights that project from their shells and can be used as sculptural floor lamps.
The helmets were displayed at the Palais de Tokyo as part of Paris Fashion Week’s Strobe menswear presentation by Rick Owens for Autumn Winter 2022.
For the show, Owens designed two helmets, each of which had a unique light bar fixture built into and sticking out from the crown of its outer shell.
The helmets have a rounded head and a shell that covers the wearer’s upper chest and back. They were made of aluminum and fiberglass.
The forms he observed in Egyptian temples and tombs while touring Egypt shortly before were used as inspiration for the helmets’ crown shapes, according to Owens’ explanation in his show notes.
“Helmets have Dan Flavin-esque fluorescent bulbs set into crown shapes that I kept seeing in the Egyptian temples and tombs I toured last October,” said Owens.
The helmet serves as a freestanding floor lamp with its extended shell acting as legs thanks to the way its extended shell, which falls over the chest and shoulders in three parts, falls over the wearer.
The first lamp, Amun, has a two-pronged light fixture that is mounted inside a trapezoid-shaped frame. It was only made in black.
The other helmet, called Hedjet, has a single light-bar fixture that protrudes from the shell and was made in both black and white.
Since the items are powered by a Rick Owens power outlet, the protruding lights can be worn on or off.
Rick Owens showcased a collection on an industrial runway earlier this year during Paris Fashion Week that made references to Victorian and architectural silhouettes.
For more than ten years, Owens has been making furniture and other items, frequently drawing inspiration from historical and architectural references. Using French army blankets as the upholstery material, Owens created a modular sofa in 2019.
Reference: www.dezeen.com
