How to Care for Your Rick Owens Pieces: Leather, Cotton, and Drape Fabrics
Whether it was a hard-saved leather biker, a heavyweight cotton hoodie grabbed during a Rick Owens sale, or a draped tunic dearer than your rent. Either way, you finally bought the jacket. No matter the piece, you now own a garment that repays a bit of know-how and penalizes neglect. Rick Owens garments aren’t fragile in the fussy way, but they use materials that behave distinctively, and treating them as ordinary clothing is exactly how people wreck pricey things. Happily, looking after them is mostly a matter of restraint and a few easy habits. This guide covers the three fabric families you’re most likely to have. Get these basics right and your pieces will outlive most of the rest of your wardrobe.
Leather: The Big Buy That Needs the Least Fuss
Leather scares people, but a Rick Owens leather jacket is honestly one of the easiest things in your closet to maintain. Rick Owens tends toward lamb and calf nappa, at times washed or blistered for the lived-in effect, and such hides want minimal interference. Never put leather through the washing machine and never dry clean it casually; only a real leather specialist, not the corner dry cleaner, should ever tackle a stain. Wipe surface dust with a slightly damp cloth and let it air dry away from radiators, since direct heat cracks the grain permanently. Treat the leather once or twice annually with a neutral, brand-safe balm, spread thinly and buffed away after twenty rickowens.eu.com minutes. Store the jacket on a wide wooden or padded hanger so the shoulders keep their shape, never on a thin wire one. Treated this way, a $4,000 leather jacket easily lasts fifteen to twenty years and only looks better as it patinas.
Handling Rain and Scuffs
Leather’s quiet enemy is water, but it is manageable if 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. Once dry, a light pass of conditioner restores any oils the water pulled out and prevents stiffness. Minor scuffs on washed nappa frequently rub away using just your fingertip and the natural heat 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. Salt marks from winter streets ought to be wiped off quickly with a barely damp cloth before they set in. The entire approach here is gentle and unhurried, which fits the lived-in look the brand celebrates anyway.
Cotton: Hoodies, Tees, and Those DRKSHDW Workhorses
The cotton pieces, especially anything from DRKSHDW, are where most owners do the most damage through simple overconfidence. That heavy jersey Rick Owens hoodie feels bulletproof, yet hot water and harsh drying will shrink it, fade the color, and destroy the carefully engineered drape. Wash cotton pieces inside out in cold water every time, ideally near 30 degrees Celsius, on a delicate cycle with a mild detergent. Avoid fabric softener altogether, as it films the fibers and flattens the matte finish that lends 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. Washing less often than you think you need to is genuinely better, since over-washing is the fastest route to a tired-looking hoodie. Follow these rules and a $600 hoodie stays looking expensive for years rather than 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 Is Rewarded
The flowing tunics, asymmetric skirts, and pooled-hem tops of the drape category are the hardest of the three, since the fabric content varies and the cut is the whole point. Many drape garments use viscose, rayon, cupro, or silk blends that lose their shape if handled roughly, so always read the care label before doing anything. Uncertain? Hand wash in cold water with just a touch of delicate detergent, swishing gently rather than wringing or twisting. Squeeze the water out by sandwiching the garment flat between two towels, then dry it flat and reshape it by hand while it’s still damp. Hang a heavy wet drape garment and it stretches unevenly, potentially distorting that thoughtfully designed silhouette for good. Whenever you’re anxious about a piece, a trusted dry cleaner experienced with designer clothing is worth every penny. The drape is what you paid for, so protecting it is the whole job.
Everyday Habits and How You Store Things
Storing these clothes between wears is almost as important as cleaning them. Give your pieces breathing room in the closet, because cramming them together creases the drape and crushes the structured shoulders on jackets. Use padded or wide wooden hangers for outerwear and fold heavy knits and hoodies instead of hanging them, since hanging stretches the neckline over time. Keep it all clear of direct sun, which fades the signature blacks and dusts into uneven grays faster than you’d think. A breathable cotton garment bag shields leather and drape pieces from dust without sealing in moisture like plastic does. For seasonal storage, make sure garments are clean first, because body oils and invisible stains attract moths and set permanently over months. Such little habits are free and tack years of life onto truly expensive clothes.
Common Mistakes That Ruin Good Pieces
The bulk of damage to Rick Owens garments stems from a short list of avoidable mistakes, and learning them ahead of time spares a lot of grief. 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. People are also fond of “freshening up” leather with household wipes or alcohol-based cleaners, which strip away the natural oils and leave the hide dry and cracked within months. Ironing drape fabrics on high heat is another classic disaster, flattening texture and sometimes scorching delicate viscose blends beyond repair. 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 Bring in a Professional
Recognizing your limits is part of looking after luxury garments properly. Whether it’s a torn lining, a failing zipper, or a split seam on a leather jacket, any structural repair is a job for a specialist, not 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. For stubborn stains on leather or drape fabrics, avoid the DIY fixes you read about online and seek out a cleaner who openly deals with designer garments. The cost of a professional clean is trivial compared with replacing a four-figure garment you damaged trying to save twenty dollars. Trade guides at outlets like Highsnobiety often tackle designer garment care if you’d like to dig deeper. By 2026, with the brand’s resale values remaining robust, well-maintained pieces are genuinely worth more too if you ever decide to sell. Treat the clothes as the long-term objects they are, and they will reward you for it.
