Paco Rabanne

Paco Rabanne, Spanish founded fashion house, known for its chainmail and rebellious fashion choices extended its hand to Menswear for SS20, offering a new realm for men to enter in to. Establishing the brand in 1966, Francisco Rabaneda y Cuervo [known to me and you as ‘Paco Rabanne’] instantaneously rebelled against the trends of ‘normal’ dressing. Growing up with a mother who worked as a seamstress for Balenciaga and venturing into the architectural world pre-fashion, Rabanne echoes this extravagance and preciseness in his collections [see his debut collection, aptly named ’12 Unwearable Dresses’]. Julien Dossena, creative director since 2013, has successfully continued the Rabanne ideals in to the SS20 Menswear collection with his choice of embellished collardetailing and futuristic metallic suiting – the direction menswear should continue follow.

The ’12 Unwearable Dresses’ debut that took place for Paco Rabanne was designed to make to shock in the fashion world – how else would you get noticed? By using unlikely materials and techniques alongside, what we might now consider the simpler shock factor of music and diverse models, Rabanne knew from the get-go what his brand was going to mean. 

Being part of the 60s Space age Movement [with André Courrèges and Pierre Cardin] thebrand adhered to youthful boom in the economy by giving women the new sense of identity that came hand in hand with their cash-full purses. By ‘revealing more than they concealed’ [Vogue, 2017], pieces like the micro mini skirt and bra top, shown in Harpers Bazaar 1966, help carry the life women were aspiring to; a style that showed a life outside the wool clad 50s, and represented a youthful, sexy appearance to be admired by all. This lifestyle has been carried through by Dossena in recent collections by bringing back the 1969 ‘Chainmail bag’ and continuing to incorporate the iconic Rabanne material to clothing and jewellery, surprisingly demonstrating that the personality of the Rabanne customer has remained consistent. This consistency is something we only see from other major fashion houses like Chanel and Prada so, to you Dossena, we salute.