Choosing Between Rick Owens vs Sacai: A Practical Guide

At $416, the Sacai Multicolor Horizontal Stripe Midi Dress costs just $26 more than a Rick Owens Owenscorp baseball cap. That gap says a lot about how differently these two labels price their entry points. Across the pieces we’ve curated, Rick Owens runs from $357.50 to $1,519 and Sacai from $416 to $1,595, an average of around $912. The ranges overlap almost completely. What you get at each price does not. Rick Owens puts much of its value into footwear and accessories with a recognisable silhouette. Sacai puts it into tailoring and dresses that splice two garments into one.

Both labels sit in the avant-garde tier of designer fashion, and both attract shoppers who find mainstream luxury a little too polished. The question isn’t whether either is worth it. It’s which one suits the way you actually dress.

Paris Darkness vs Tokyo Hybrids: Where Each Sits Among Its Peers

Rick Owens is a California-born designer who has shown in Paris for over two decades. His label belongs alongside Ann Demeulemeester, Yohji Yamamoto and the darker end of Maison Margiela. The signatures are a muted palette of black, dust and off-white, elongated proportions, and footwear with exaggerated soles and oversized laces. The Jumbolace name in this edit refers to those thick, rope-like laces. The Rick Owens customer buys into a whole worldview, and the sneakers are often the gateway piece.

Sacai is the Tokyo label founded by Chitose Abe, who trained at Comme des Garçons under Rei Kawakubo. That lineage shows. Sacai’s closest peers are Junya Watanabe and Undercover, Japanese labels that take familiar Western garments and rebuild them. Abe’s signature is hybridisation: a shirt that becomes a dress, suiting that turns into a skirt, leopard print spliced into chalk stripe. The pieces read as classic from a distance and reveal the construction up close.

The practical difference comes down to this. Rick Owens asks you to commit to an aesthetic. Sacai lets you wear something unexpected without looking costumed. A Sacai shirt dress can go to a client lunch in Melbourne’s CBD. A pair of Rick Owens sneakers will be noticed in any room, and that is exactly why people buy them.

	Rick Owens	Sacai
Price span in this edit	$357.50 – $1,519	$416 – $1,595
Strongest categories	Sneakers, accessories, statement footwear	Dresses, skirts, tailoring hybrids
Palette	Black, neutrals, muted tones	Navy, brown, chalk stripe, multicolour stripe, leopard
Design language	Exaggerated proportion, sculptural soles	Two garments spliced into one
Comparable peers	Ann Demeulemeester, Yohji Yamamoto	Junya Watanabe, Undercover

Why Rick Owens Footwear Earns Its Price Tag

Rick Owens is strongest in footwear. Three of the eight pieces we’ve curated are sneakers, and they show the house’s range well.

The Strobe Leather Sneaker at $770 is the most accessible of the three. It’s a leather low-top that carries the label’s silhouette without the full Jumbolace drama. It suits someone who wants the brand’s design language at a volume they can wear daily. With black wide-leg trousers or a long knit, it reads as quietly considered rather than loud.

The Low Greywolf Leather Sneakers at $805 sit just above. At the top end, the Jumbolace Low Sneaks at $983.50 are the statement pair. The oversized laces are the point, and they’re instantly recognisable to anyone who follows the label. If you’re only buying one pair of Rick Owens shoes, choose based on how much attention you want them to draw.

The other strength is accessories. The Foulard Scarf at $710 is a smart buy for anyone who wants the Rick Owens mood without committing to a full garment. A scarf works across seasons, layers over existing basics, and moves easily between a winter coat and a summer evening on the harbour. Price-per-wear on a well-chosen scarf is hard to beat at this tier.

The Owenscorp Baseball Cap at $390 and the Oversize Crater at $357.50 are the lowest-priced entry points into either label in this edit. For the Crater, oversized proportions are the defining feature, in keeping with the house’s relaxed, elongated cuts.

The Fog Boxers at $670 are a more playful piece, built around the soft, washed-out “Fog” colour story. They suit a summer wardrobe built on simple layers, worn with an oversized tee and sneakers for an easy weekend uniform that still looks deliberate.

At the very top sits the Ankle Taco at $1,519, the most expensive Rick Owens piece in this edit. It’s for the collector already deep in the label’s world rather than a first-time buyer.

Where Sacai Pulls Ahead: Dresses and Tailoring

If your wardrobe leans towards dresses, skirts and tailoring, Sacai is the stronger choice of the two. Rick Owens is known for drape and sculptural pieces, but Sacai’s hybrid tailoring answers a different question: how do you wear something interesting to work?

The Navy Poplin Shirt Minidress at $678 is Sacai at its most wearable. Navy poplin is a classic shirting cloth, and turning it into a minidress is a very Chitose Abe idea: familiar fabric, unexpected form. It works on its own in warmer months, or layered over a fine knit and opaque tights when Melbourne turns cold. It costs less than most Rick Owens sneakers in this edit, and it covers far more occasions.

For colour, the Multicolor Horizontal Stripe Midi Dress at $416 is the standout value across both brands. Rick Owens rarely ventures beyond its muted palette. This dress goes the other way, with bold horizontal stripes that do the styling for you. Keep everything else simple: flat sandals, a plain tote and minimal jewellery. It’s an easy choice for an Australian summer of long lunches and gallery openings.

The Multicolor Horizontal Stripe Shorts at $555 bring the same stripe in a more casual shape. Worn with a crisp white shirt, they make a strong warm-weather pairing. They also make an interesting counterpoint to the Rick Owens Fog Boxers. Both are designer shorts at a similar price, but one leans into colour and the other into a soft monochrome.

For tailoring, the Black Chalk Stripe Shorts at $593 and the Black Chalk Stripe Vest at $1,505 work as a set or apart. Chalk stripe is a traditional menswear suiting pattern. Sacai’s take on it suits someone who wants a summer version of a suit for events where a full pantsuit feels too formal.

The two hybrid skirts show the label’s splicing most clearly. The Black Leopard x Suiting Midi Skirt and the Taupe & Navy Herringbone x Suiting Midi Skirt are both $1,520. Each combines two distinct fabrics in one garment, so you get the interest of a print with the structure of tailoring. These are investment pieces: the kind you style a dozen ways and keep for years.

At the top of the Sacai range, the Brown Cotton Cashmere Knit Sweater at $1,595 is the most expensive piece across both brands. The cotton-cashmere blend makes sense in Australia, giving softness without the full warmth of pure cashmere. That’s useful in Sydney, where winters rarely call for heavy knits.

The Junya Watanabe Customer vs the Ann Demeulemeester Customer

The easiest way to choose between these labels is to look at what’s already in your wardrobe.

Choose Rick Owens if:

• You already wear mostly black, grey and neutrals, and want pieces that deepen that palette.
• Footwear is your preferred way to invest in designer fashion. The Strobe, Greywolf and Jumbolace sneakers are among the most recognisable in avant-garde fashion.
• You like Ann Demeulemeester or Yohji Yamamoto and want something with a sharper, more sculptural edge.
• You want an accessible entry point. The cap at $390 and the Oversize Crater at $357.50 let you buy into the label without a four-figure spend.
• You dress casually but deliberately: oversized tees, relaxed shorts, statement shoes.

Choose Sacai if:

• Dresses and skirts make up most of your wardrobe, and you want designer pieces that work for both office and weekend.
• You enjoy Junya Watanabe or Comme des Garçons but want something easier to wear every day.
• Colour and pattern appeal to you. The multicolour stripes and leopard-suiting hybrids offer a range that Rick Owens doesn’t touch.
• You want tailoring with a twist: chalk stripe, herringbone and poplin, reshaped into unexpected forms.
• You value pieces that look classic at first glance and reward a closer look.

There’s also a strong case for owning both. A pair of Rick Owens Strobe sneakers under the Sacai Navy Poplin Shirt Minidress pairs Paris and Tokyo in a way that works well. One brings structure underfoot, the other brings interest through the body.

Our Pick at Every Price Point

• Under $500: The Sacai Multicolor Horizontal Stripe Midi Dress at $416 gives you a full designer dress for barely more than a cap. If you’d rather stay in neutrals, the Rick Owens Oversize Crater at $357.50 is the alternative.
• $500–$800: The Sacai Navy Poplin Shirt Minidress at $678 for versatility, or the Rick Owens Strobe Leather Sneaker at $770 for daily wear.
• $800–$1,000: The Rick Owens Jumbolace Low Sneaks at $983.50, the definitive Rick Owens statement shoe.
• Over $1,000: The Sacai Black Leopard x Suiting Midi Skirt at $1,520, which shows Chitose Abe’s hybrid approach better than anything else in this edit.

Sneakers or Spliced Tailoring: Where Your $900 Goes Furthest

With the average price across both edits sitting around $912, most shoppers will spend roughly the same either way. The real decision is about category, not cost.

If your designer spend goes on shoes and accessories, Rick Owens offers more distinctive options at this tier than almost any label. The sneakers are recognisable, they work with an existing wardrobe, and they’re worn often enough to justify the outlay. Sacai’s strength sits higher on the body. Its dresses, skirts and tailoring deliver an interest in construction that’s hard to find elsewhere without moving into full Comme des Garçons territory.

Our take: start with Sacai if you want one piece that changes how your wardrobe works, and start with Rick Owens if you want one piece that changes how your outfits finish. Either way, you’re buying into two of the most considered design voices working today. Browse the full Rick Owens and Sacai edits on Miss Nelly Boutique to find the pieces that suit how you dress.