How to Care for Your Rick Owens Pieces: Leather, Cotton, and Drape Fabrics
You finally pulled the trigger on the jacket. Maybe it was a leather biker you saved for months to afford, or a heavyweight cotton hoodie you snagged during a Rick Owens sale, or a draped tunic that cost more than your monthly rent. In any case, you now own a piece that gives back when you understand it and suffers when you ignore it. 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 walks through the three fabric families you are most likely to own. Nail these fundamentals and your pieces will outlast most of the rest of your closet.
Leather: The Big Buy That Needs the Least Fuss
A Rick Owens leather jacket is honestly one of the easiest things in your closet to maintain, even though leather scares people. The label favors lamb and calf nappa, now and then washed or blistered for that broken-in look, and these leathers are happiest left mostly undisturbed. Don’t machine wash leather and don’t dry clean it on impulse: a genuine leather specialist, rather than a corner dry cleaner, is the sole person who should treat any stain. Remove surface dust with a barely damp cloth and let it air dry well away from radiators, because direct heat permanently cracks the grain. Feed the leather once or twice a year using a neutral, brand-safe balm, applied in a thin layer and buffed off after twenty minutes. Keep the jacket on a wide wooden or padded hanger rick owens hoodie drkshdw to preserve the shoulders’ shape, and never on a thin wire hanger. Cared for like this, a $4,000 leather jacket comfortably lasts fifteen to twenty years and only improves as it patinas.
Dealing with Rain and Scuffs
Water is the quiet enemy of leather, yet it’s controllable so long as you act sensibly. Caught in the rain, resist the urge to panic or hit the jacket with a hairdryer; just hang it at room temperature and let it dry slowly across a day or two. Once dry, a light pass of conditioner restores any oils the water pulled out and prevents stiffness. Small scuffs on washed nappa often buff out with nothing more than your fingertip and the natural warmth 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. Wipe salt stains from winter pavements away promptly using a barely damp cloth before they set. The whole philosophy here is gentle and slow, which suits the lived-in aesthetic the brand celebrates anyway.
Cotton: Hoodies, Tees, and Those DRKSHDW Workhorses
It’s the cotton pieces, above all anything from DRKSHDW, where most owners inflict the most damage out of simple overconfidence. The heavyweight jersey Rick Owens hoodie seems indestructible, but hot water and rough drying shrink it, wash out the dye, and ruin the meticulously 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. Leave out the fabric softener completely, since it coats the fibers and dulls the matte texture that gives 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 Pays Off
Because the fabric content varies and the cut is the entire point, the draped pieces, those flowing tunics, asymmetric skirts, and pooled-hem tops, are the trickiest of the three. Lots of drape garments rely on viscose, rayon, cupro, or silk blends that lose their form if handled carelessly, so read the care label before you do anything. When in doubt, hand wash in cold water with a tiny amount of delicate detergent, swishing gently rather than wringing or twisting. Press the water out by laying the garment flat between two towels, then dry it flat and reshape it by hand while damp. Hanging a heavy wet drape piece stretches it unevenly and can permanently distort that carefully considered silhouette. For anything you are nervous about, a reputable dry cleaner experienced with designer garments is money well spent. You paid for the drape, so safeguarding it is the entire task.
Storage and Day-to-Day Habits
The way you store these clothes between wears counts nearly as much as how you clean them. Give your pieces breathing room in the closet, because cramming them together creases the drape and crushes the structured shoulders on jackets. Choose padded or broad wooden hangers for outerwear, and fold heavy knits and hoodies rather than hanging them, because hanging stretches the neckline over time. Store everything away from direct sunlight, which bleaches the signature blacks and dusts into patchy grays surprisingly quickly. A breathable cotton garment bag protects leather and drape pieces from dust without trapping moisture the way plastic does. When storing for the season, clean the garments first, since body oils and unseen stains draw moths and set permanently over the months. These minor habits cost you nothing yet add years to genuinely pricey clothing.
Common Mistakes That Wreck Good Pieces
Most harm done to Rick Owens garments traces to a handful of avoidable errors, and knowing them beforehand saves plenty of heartache. The biggest culprit is throwing a heavyweight hoodie into a hot wash with everything else, which shrinks the cotton and runs the careful dye in one cycle. Not far behind is putting knits and jersey on narrow hangers, which warps the shoulders into permanent lumps that no laundering fixes. Many folks like to “freshen up” leather using household wipes or alcohol-based cleaners, which remove the natural oils and turn the hide dry and cracked inside months. Pressing drape fabrics on high heat is another classic blunder, crushing texture and at times scorching delicate viscose blends past saving. Stowing seemingly clean yet unwashed garments through a season hands moths a meal of invisible body oils. Finally, obsessing over every small scuff or fade misses the point of a label that prizes a worn, lived-in patina. Avoid these six habits and you have already done eighty percent of the work.
When It’s Time to Call a Pro
Knowing your limits is part of caring for luxury garments well. Any structural fix, a ripped lining, a dying zipper, a burst seam on a leather jacket, calls for a specialist instead of 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 price of a professional clean is negligible next to replacing a four-figure garment you ruined trying to save twenty dollars. Industry guides at outlets like Highsnobiety frequently cover designer garment care if you want to read further. In 2026, with resale values for the brand holding strong, well-maintained pieces are also genuinely worth more if you ever sell. Treat these garments as the long-term pieces they are, and they will reward you in return.