An Unexpected Rendezvous

Most nights, Maddie and I walk through the Palais Royal gardens. As we do, I glance in the windows of an eclectic mix of fashion designers and high-end retailers. But what always caught my eye was the "human mannequin" standing behind the counter at Rick Owens' newly opened boutique. Who knew it was wax?

Every so often, I spotted the "human mannequin" working out at L'Usine. With gauze like shirts, black shorts and hiking boots, I thought his wardrobe was a bit odd for a proper sweatfest. But you tend to become numb to such eccentricities when you're living in Paris.

A few weeks back, as Maddie and I were strolling through the gardens, we spotted the "human mannequin" on his way to take his place behind the counter. But since we had just passed the store with the figure in place, it didn't take long for me to realize the black, long haired, and lean model standing ever so still for hours was indeed lifeless and that the "human mannequin" was Rick Owens.

On Saturday, as we guided our friends through Paris, we stopped inside Rick's shop. The wax figure was gone but the original was there in full glory. Not only was he quite personable, he enjoyed my story. Besides that, our friend Tony from Chicago entertained us all with his catwalk of Rick's 8 inch heel boots.

So even though Rick's duplicate is gone from the store until December, it appears I'll be able to see the real thing on and off at the gym. And this time, as we discussed on Saturday, we'll both set aside our usual gym practices and say hello.