Rick Owens doesn’t make decisions quietly — even when he doesn’t announce them loudly.

Beginning in 2026, the designer will officially stop using animal fur in his collections, closing a chapter that once symbolized provocation, power, and excess. But make no mistake: this isn’t Rick Owens going gentle. It’s Rick Owens going precise.

A Long Goodbye to Fur

Owens’ relationship with fur didn’t end overnight. For more than a decade, real fur slowly disappeared from his runway — replaced by brutal silhouettes, industrial materials, and architectural construction that no longer relied on pelts for drama.

By late 2025, the brand made it official: no new animal fur, and remaining fur pieces removed from sale. By 2026, fur exits the Rick Owens universe entirely.

No spectacle. No virtue signaling. Just finality.

Why This Move Actually Matters

In 2026, going fur-free will be industry standard. Fashion weeks, luxury conglomerates, and heritage houses are already enforcing it.

So why does Rick Owens’ decision hit differently?

Because Owens never played by institutional rules. When others abandon fur for compliance, Owens abandons it because it no longer feels radical. Fur once shocked. Now it feels inherited. And Rick Owens doesn’t design for the past.

What “No Fur” Means — And What It Doesn’t

This is about animal fur only — mink, fox, beaver, and similar pelts. It does not automatically include leather or other animal-derived materials, which remain part of fashion’s unresolved material debate.

Owens isn’t selling moral purity. He’s editing relevance.

Rick Owens Without Fur Is Still Rick Owens

If you think fur-free means softened aesthetics, think again.

Owens has already proven he can create volume, aggression, and monumentality without surface excess. This shift pushes the brand further toward:

Extreme proportion
Structural experimentation
Design-led provocation

The clothes don’t lose their darkness. They lose what no longer serves it.

The Bigger Picture

Rick Owens going fur-free isn’t about sustainability headlines. It’s about control of authorship in an industry obsessed with optics.

In a moment when luxury is struggling to define what power looks like next, Owens once again chooses discomfort over nostalgia — and evolution over ornament.

That’s not a retreat.
That’s authorship.

FASHIONADO