Though wholly unintentional, watching Rick’s models wade through the water of the fountain at the heart of the Palais de Tokyo did bring to mind the torrential showers that soaked Paris just a few nights ago. And hey, with sea levels rising, perhaps fashion should start leaning amphibious. But that’s beside the point. This season, Rick Owens was in a celebratory mood. Just across the road from his SS26 show, the Palais Galliera unveiled Temple of Love, a major retrospective of his work. This season’s collection was directly tied to the exhibition and Rick’s ongoing “fascination,” as he put it, with “the denseness of European aesthetic sophistication seen through a filter of American bluntness.”

To the soundtrack of Klaus Nomi’s haunting rendition of Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, the models marched out onto a raised platform and proceeded to climb down scaffolding. Despite this, we saw Rick turn away somewhat from his usual severe and domineering silhouettes. This collection felt more minimalistic. Or, well, Rick’s version of minimalism. Leather trousers became one with boots, worn with bare chests, giving kinky satyr. Shorts were fringed and frayed, harness hardware was oversized and cords were chunky, while one hooded jacket had an image of urinals printed on it.

Rick also collaborated with legendary punk band Suicide on a series of pre-destroyed leather jackets, referencing the distressed leathers once worn by Alan Vega and Martin Rev. Flight jackets and parkas were made from delicate silk taffeta and industrial nylons. And a new shoe silhouette, purposefully chunky, orthopaedic-looking sandals, were dubbed the “burrito sneaks”.

Naturally, there had to be a grand finale. The models returned to the jungle gym they had first descended and now, climbed up, latching on like acrobats. Others posed in the water and looked like a boyband from hell. It was all very Waterworld.