Temple of Love sees Rick Owens transform the Palais Galliera into a ritualistic sanctuary

Temple of Love, Rick Owens’s first significant retrospective in Paris, turns the Palais Galliera into a ceremonial haven. The museum’s Renaissance architecture is reframed as a silent chorus of devotion as soon as you walk in, with classical statues covered in sequined fabric, turning the façade itself into an altar.

RICK OWENS TEMPLE OF LOVE SCENEOGRAPHY @OWENSCORP

Amidst Californian vines and morning glory, Owens’s favorite plants, thirty brutalist cement sculptures rise from the garden, evoking his sculptural roots. Inside, modest, purposeful lighting illuminates more than 100 silhouettes taken from Owens’s archives. An interior shrine is evoked by a felt-covered, sound-absorbing space where clothing made of drenched jersey, distressed leathers, and characteristic “dust” gray demands a spiritual response. Works are arranged according to mood and emotion rather than chronological design advancement, which enables the viewer to experience Owens’s work as mythic presences rather than seasonal collections.

Taboos are directly confronted in a special, restricted room. Here, a hyper-realistic statue of Owens urinating and shocking video projections, such as the looping film Horse, transform shock into a religious ritual. These potent components address issues of identity, gender, and vulnerability; they demand respect in addition to being provocative. There is not much of gatekeeping in the exhibition, as voyeurism continues as we walk into a recreated facsimile of Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy’s Los Angeles bedroom in what is arguably the most personal and poignant installation. With their bed, literature, fragrant jars, and treasured items, it captures the creative synergy and shared mythology of the two people into a home shrine—a place that is alive with love as the creative energy.

Temple of Love is an immersive retrospective crafted as a ritual from passion and resistance, not just a reflection. It is a statement that fashion can be highly personal, sensual, political, and religious. Owens ordains clothes rather than merely presenting them. By the end of the exhibition, you also have a better understanding of how fashion can serve as myth, provocation, and refuge. This is not an easy place to be comfortable, but Temple of Love offers a once-in-a-lifetime journey through one of fashion’s most demanding spirits for anyone prepared to give in to discomfort and then come out feeling curious.