March 3, 2023 |
You could hear Julien Dossena’s Paco Rabanne frocks before you could see them. A parade of shiny, assemblage dresses jangled like tambourines as they sauntered by. Their chainmail, plastic and metallic feather constructions honoured the house’s founder, who passed away February 3. In the 1960s, Rabanne’s future-facing designs changed the way we thought about fashion. Dossena, too an innovator, has spent the last decade funnelling the late designer’s revolutionary approach to craft through a deeply modern wardrobe, one equipped to dress forward-thinkers of today.
In paying tribute to Rabanne, Dossena charged forward with the brand’s use of divisive fabrics. Hairy wool was brushed out to look like fur, and clear crystals resembling ice cubes, cascaded from column dresses. Rabanne’s friendship with fellow Spanish visionary, Salvador Dalí, was also celebrated, via a series of evening gowns stamped with four of the artist’s paintings, including “Sun-Table (1935)”.
The rustling procession of showstoppers was topped off with five linked disc dresses pulled from the brand’s archive, which shined just as bright today. It proved a fitting salute to a fashion architect with an eye always on tomorrow.
Photography courtesy of Christina Fragkou.
