Men, to your skirts: Rick Owens rocks man dresses

The California-born designer served them up in long and short iterations Thursday, layering miniskirt over miniskirt over leggings, or pairing razor-cut blazers with ankle-length skirts with bold slits up the back.

"I’m not going to sell tons of them," Owens acknowledged in a post-show interview. "But if there’s anyone on the planet that can sell skirts to men, it’s me.

"It’s a niche, but I like the niche," he said.

Besides the skirts, the collection — shown in a stadium in eastern Paris that was plunged into darkness for the occasion — was dominated by floor-length tank dresses in nubby blacks, charcoal grays and khakis.

With their long, elegant lines, the dresses evoked hermits wandering the deserts.

"I like the idea of promoting dignity and wisdom," said Owens, adding that for him, the man dress — with its airs of Ancient Greece and philosophers and monks — embodies both.

It’s a fair guess that many, many men might disagree with Owens on that one.

But watching his models, who looked willowy and ravishing in their dresses, those present at Thursday’s show couldn’t help but agree.