By Jessica Michault

Much will be made of the male models caked head to toe in chalky paint on the Rick Owens catwalk on Thursday. And they certainly did make for some striking show images. But it says something about how strong this Owens show was that the body paint was quickly forgotten by the audience enthralled with another engrossing collection that pushed the brand's codes in new directions.

The thread of last season's exploration of volume continued for summer. Tunic tops and stand away from the body shorts, this time in washed frayed denim and stiff cotton, started out the show.

But Owens quickly began to soften those shapes even more by reworking the silk lining of suit jackets into all sorts of interesting alliterations. Long sleeveless tops would be crafted out of an asymmetrical patchwork of the fabric. Light weight jackets came turned inside out and hung across a nude torso via a sash of silk and coats had collars tightly wrapping the neck that started as inside out silk lining at the shoulders.

Sometimes Owens would tie down the more fluid silk pieces by strapping them under single shoulder harness tops to create a sartorial tension between movement and restriction. It gave the show an edgy modern warrior energy.

The other impactful sartorial message of the collection were a series of pieces covered with yarn embroidery of primitive imagery that had a palpable primal potency to them.

Owens once again proved himself to be an original and thought provoking designer who continues to grow without ever forsaking his very particular sartorial past.