A fashion TikToker is selling a Rick Owens vest with the word 'urinal' on it for $425 and viewers aren't sure how they feel about it
Screenshot/TikTok - @archivethreadss
- A TikToker's video showcasing a Rick Owens vest with the word "URINAL" enscribed on it has gone viral.
- Viewers are divided between loving the garment and being appalled by it.
- The piece of clothing originally retailed at around $522, Hypebeast reported.
A fashion TikToker sporting a Rick Owens vest with the word "URINAL" on it has drawn divisive opinions. Some users say they badly want it — or have already purchased it — while others are aghast and shocked the garment even exists.
Despite naysayers, TikToker Christian Ferguson sold the vest for $425 soon after he shared his video on Tuesday, he told Insider.
In the video, which has racked up hundreds of thousands of views, Ferguson stands in front of the camera and shows himself modeling the apparel.
"Rick Owens has always been open about his interest in BDSM, but for fall '22 he was rather proud of it," the creator said at the start of the video. "Opening the collection with a kinky 'urinal' tank top, he invites onlookers to piss on the wearer."
"It's certainly degrading, but very much so Rick," he concluded.
The knitted sweater vest, that's actually called "URINAL," originally retailed for about $522, according to Hypebeast. The garment was part of Owens' fall 2022 collection "Strobe," which featured numerous other edgy and experimental pieces. While it does not seem to be widely available for retail, people are currently reselling their "URINAL" shirts for hundreds of dollars on the resale site Grailed.
Many of the top comments on Ferguson's video are critical of the vest, with some TikTokers saying it looks cool except for the word "urinal." One of the top comments, with over 18,000 likes, read, "People need to stop buying stuff just because Rick Owens made it."
Others thought the top looked cheap, or something that could be DIY'd. "Thrift store, fabric paint and some scissors gets u that same shirt for not 400 dollars!" another top comment read.
Owens' clothing is hugely popular on TikTok — the hashtag "rickowens" has over 1.3 billion views on the platform and there are several inside jokes and memes based around the designer and the people who wear his apparel.
Despite the ridicule, a faction of viewers seemed enthusiastic about the design.
"Think I gotta cop this," one person wrote. "You say the word urinal ruins it but that's the main reason I want this," someone else added.
Most importantly, Ferguson remains a fan of the designer and this design. He told Insider he thought there was a lot of backlash because "viewers were taken aback by the blunt choice of words and meaning behind the piece."
But that is also the point: "That was absolutely Owens' intent."
Ferguson said the crudeness is typical in Owens' work, and how he confronts uncomfortable social taboos is often divisive.
"Some love it, some hate it, but I think that's ultimately the beauty of Rick Owens' portfolio," Ferguson said.