LEADER OF THE PACO

"When I think of Paco Rabanne, I don’t think retro," Julien Dossena says, "I think revolution, rebellion, and renaissance." For the 37-year-old artistic director, reigniting this heritage brand’s inimitable luxe and allure has been a joy. Having earned his stripes studying at the prestigious La Cambre fashion department in Brussels before going on to work as Senior Designer at Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière and establishing the ready-to-wear label Atto, Dossena took the prestigious role at Paco Rabanne in 2013 and hasn’t looked back.

For fashion lovers, Paco Rabanne’s unique history and pop culture influences are rivalled by few. Founder Francisco Rabaneda y Cuervo was born in 1934 in Spanish Basque Country. At the age of five, he and his mother, a head seamstress at Balenciaga, escaped the Spanish Civil War by fleeing to France, where he assumed the name Paco Rabanne. By the early 1960s, having trained as an architect, Rabanne applied his skills towards avant-garde accessory design, proposing unique creations for several haute couture houses. He established his own eponymous label in 1966, and in 1967 Françoise Hardy appeared in one of his mini-dresses, assembled from gold plates inlaid with diamonds – his signature aesthetic. She, along with Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin, Jeanne Moreau, and Audrey Hepburn wore Rabanne’s iconic metallic paillette dresses throughout the decade, making him and the fashion house a stalwart of iconic 1960s design.

Fast forward to today, and Dossena has taken Rabanne’s iconic DNA, reimagining and reigniting it for a whole new generation of infallible ingénues. His 2019 autumn/winter runway shimmered and shone with Deco chain mail and velvet cocktail dresses, sumptuous floor-length skirts split to the thighs, slinky dress coats and checkered suits. It was an homage to the glamour of the Paco Rabanne of the 1960s and 1970s, and one which its founder would have adored.

When it comes to choosing something from this latest collection to wear this party season, there truly is something for everyone. Dossena’s patterned and printed jewel-tone dresses are as flattering as they are eye-catching; each skirt, frock or dress coat can be layered with jewels and faux-furs to accentuate the look and embolden a more modest party-goer, while any of the separates can be donned individually to create the ultimate fashion party punch.

Really, what this entire Paco Rabanne renaissance is all about is the joy, glamour, and fun of fashion, one which transports the wearer to a different era, place and time, where the only party dressing that counts is the kind that makes you feel alive. If Dossena has been on a mission to champion the return of Studio 54 glamour and create a new swathe of Paco Rabanne advocates, much like his predecessor’s Hollywood It girls, it’s safe to say he’s achieved that in spades. Those who fall in love with 2019’s Paco Rabanne collection will love this label forever.

SHIMMER INTO THE SEASON

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