Paco Rabanne: Designer Highlight by Tucker Kirkes

Paco Rabanne: Beginnings and Context

kirkest — 2025-03-18 03:00:04 UTC

Paco Rabanne, although not born in France, is often considered an "adopted" French designer. Born in 1934, Rabanne left his birthplace of Basque Country in Spain at the age of five due to the Spanish Civil War. Prior to relocating to France in 1939, his mother was the head seamstress at Spain's Balenciaga couture house. This initial exposure to fashion was only strengthened when Rabanne attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, leading him to design costume jewelry for many French couture houses, such as Pierre Cardin and Givenchy ("Paco Rabanne").

Although born in the 1930s, many of Paco Rabanne's prominent fashion designs were created during and after the 1960s. At this time, innovation and exploration, particularly into space, were key themes globally. These themes transferred into the fashion world, as well, where Rabanne and other creators, such as Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges, focused on sleek, netural designs made out of plastic and accompanied by vinyl accessories (Franceshini 2023).

In general, 1960s fashion demonstrated a drastic social change in that the income of young people in Paris was the highest it had been since the end of World War II. Thus, fashion creators began to focus their attention on designs and materials geared toward the desires of young people, specifically. This often consisted of man-made materials, like plastics and synthetic fibers, which led to much of designs in Space Age fashion in the 1960s ("An introduction to 1960s fashion").

1966: Twelve Unwearable Dresses

kirkest — 2025-03-18 03:56:20 UTC

Paco Rabanne's first couture collection of the Maison Rabanne, or the Rabanne house, was the Twelve Unwearable Dresses collection displayed at Hotel Georges V in Paris in 1966. The show was iconic in being "the first to feature interracial models" ("Footwear in the Movies"). The picture above depicts one of the sculptural micromini dresses that the women at this initial show wore. Rabanne used square and rectangular metal plates bonded together by metal rings, but unlike his Space Age counterparts, Rabanne used postwar industrial materials, in particular, to distinguish himself from Cardin and Courrèges. Furthermore, the use of chain mail in the dress highlights how Rabanne often referenced historical elements in his pieces. It is important to note that while this was Rabanne's first couture collection at the Maison Rabanne, this collection was initially previewed as Twelve Experimental Dresses in 1964 in Paris.

1968: Barbarella

kirkest — 2025-03-18 04:21:22 UTC

Paco Rabanne is responsible for the fashion seen in 1968 film Barbarella. Barbarella is a movie adaptation of an adult comic book and is set in a science fiction setting. The main character, Barbarella, represents a "free, wild and independent woman" ("Footwear in the movies"). While facing many villains throughout the film, her air of sensuality is enhanced by Rabanne's designs. In particular, while popularized by actress Jane Fonda, the boots worn by Barbarella contributed to the movie's success, as well as the widespread support for Fonda portrayed as Barbarella ("Footwear in the movies").

1969: Calandre

kirkest — 2025-03-18 04:30:00 UTC

Paco Rabanne's first contribution to fragrance can be seen in his collaborative effort with Puig in 1969: Calandre. The Puig house is a Spanish fashion and frangrance company that was originally established in 1914 in Barcelona ("Who was Paco Rabanne?"). Calandre is a floral aldehyde fragrance designed specifically for women. The nose behind this perfume was Michael Hy, who also contributed to the creation of YSL Rive Gauche, a highly successful perfume released in 1966. The packaging, consisting of a rectangular perfume bottle encased in a silver border, draws an exciting parallel to his Space Age fashion designs that draw from wartime metallic material. In describing its scent, Ca Fleur Bon states, "it’s bolder, more intense; rosier, but a darker, moodier rose" ("Paco Rabanne Calandre").

1967: Two for the Road

kirkest — 2025-03-18 05:00:21 UTC

In 1967, Audrey Hepburn wore many of Rabanne's designs in the film Two for the Road. The scene in which she wore the Unwearable Dress from 1966 as Joanna Wallace took place during a scene featuring Hepburn dancing on a night out. This was likely a result of the reputation of the Unwearable Dress, and Space Age fashion as a whole, as a party-ready style of fashion (McCelland). The Unwearable Dress was paired in the film with matching earrings and silver lamé shoes created by French designer Charles Jourdan, which highlighted the highly experimental nature of fashion throughout the 1960s. This experimentation carried throughout the film when Hepburn was featured at a later scene wearing vibrant yellow, plastic-made Visor Glasses, as seen above ("Two For the Road").

1985: La Nuit

kirkest — 2025-03-18 05:34:49 UTC

In 1985, Paco Rabanne released his perfume La Nuit. La Nuit, although one of Rabanne's more recently released perfumes, is no longer available to consumers, which helps maintain the vintage style and scent that this perfume invokes. Additionally, while released in the 1980s, La Nuit is known to establish similar themes to the fashion efforts of Rabbane's prime: the Space Age. "Yesterday's Perfume" declares La Nuit as giving off "a solid, sexy floral chypre" scent ("La Nuit by Paco Rabanne"). In a similar manner, La Nuit is identified as creating a connection to Rabanne's earlier works for the James Bond film Casino Royale in 1966: "The perfume's movement from sophisticated chypre to come-hither animalic makes me think of a somewhat comical image from a James Bond film" ("La Nuit by Paco Rabanne").

1973: Paco Rabanne

kirkest — 2025-03-18 05:55:05 UTC

In 1973, the first "Paco Rabanne" perfume was created. It is the first men's eau de toilette (perfume) in the aromatic-fougère family, which is a set of perfumes with strong notes of lavender, bergamot, geranium, oakmoss, and coumarin ("Who was Paco Rabanne?"). The bottle design was created by French designer Pierre Dinand, who is known for combining glass perfume bottles with plastic and metal cappers ("About"). The initial "Paco Rabanne" was intended to give off "masculine and virile base notes" ("Who was Paco Rabanne?"). However, this particular perfume went on to be so successful that another version was created: XS pour elle (for her).

1969: Paco Rabanne's Bag: The 1969

kirkest — 2025-03-18 06:06:55 UTC

In 1969, Rabanne's persistently famous 1969 Bag was created. The bag, intended for use by women, is constructed from a set of linked metal discs, and is believed to have been inspired by a butcher's chainmail apron, as well as other similar Space Age designs. The success of Rabanne's 1966 Twelve Unwearable Dresses was a major contributing factor and source of inspiration for the creation of Le 1969. At the same time, certain designers, including Coco Chanel, expressed their dislike for Rabanne's work leading up to this point: "He’s not a couturier. He’s a metal worker" (Schroeder and Hughes). Whether this was a major contributing factor to his creation of the dress using only metal and a toilet-flushing chain as a handle, Le 1969 went on to be worn by Françoise Hardy and Brigitte Bardot.

Today: Rabanne's Successor

kirkest — 2025-03-18 06:16:16 UTC

Paco Rabanne retired from fashion design with his label and appearances in the public eye in 1999. His label took a brief hiatus from 2006 through 2011. Today, the Paco Rabanne design is run by its French-born creative director, Julien Dossena. While Dossena creates his own collections, he frequently draws from Rabanne's original pieces, featuring chain mail and metal palettes ("In memoriam"). An example of Dossena continuing to reference Rabanne, even today, is evident in his current "Ready to Wear" collection that features a metallic-looking blue tie dye mini skirt, as seen above.

Works Cited

kirkest — 2025-03-18 06:33:13 UTC

“1960s French Fashion World with Paco Rabanne - Runway Magazine ® Official.” Runway Magazines, runwaymagazines.com/1960s-french-fashion-world-paco-rabanne/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.

“About.” Pierre Dinand, 19 Nov. 2024, pierre-dinand.com/biographie/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

Camen, Michelyn. “Paco Rabanne Calandre (Michael Hy) 1969 ‘Homage to Paco Rabanne:1934-2023.’” ÇaFleureBon Perfume Blog, 5 Feb. 2023, cafleurebon.com/paco-rabanne-calandre-michael-hy-1969-homage-to-paco-rabanne-1934-2023/#:~:text=Paco%20Rabanne%20Calandre%20. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

Coglienti, Giuseppe. “Paco Rabanne, a Luminary of Perfumery - Blog.” Scentspiracy, 18 Jan. 2024, www.scentspiracy.com/blog/goodbyepacorabanne#:~:text=It%20was%201969%20the%20year,the%20aromatic%2Dfoug%C3%A8re%20family%20in. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

Ferrer, Corine. “Footwear in the Movies: Paco Rabanne’s Designs for Barbarella.” OSur Blog, o-sur.com/en/footwear-in-the-movies-paco-rabannes-designs-for-barbarella/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

“An Introduction to 1960s Fashion · V&A.” Victoria and Albert Museum, www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-1960s-fashion?srsltid=AfmBOoqXTYY8CYyC0RfHCDL4J9zJWxGIOjQ0S73B59D7phOQuZkdnTnn. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

La Nuit by Paco Rabanne (1985) - Yesterday’s Perfume, yesterdaysperfume.typepad.com/yesterdays_perfume/2009/12/la-nuit-by-paco-rabanne-1985.html. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.

Moss, Jack. “The Evolution of Rabanne.” Wallpaper.Com, Wallpaper*, 12 Aug. 2023, www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/rabanne-julien-dossena-interview-2023. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

“Paco Rabanne.” The Perfume Society, perfumesociety.org/perfume-house/paco-rabanne/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

“Paco Rabanne: Dress: French.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 1967, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/145899. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

“Remembering Paco Rabanne’s Extraordinary Career in Fashion.” Grazia Middle East, graziamagazine.com/me/articles/paco-rabanne-best-fashion-moments/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

“Space Age Fashion | Europeana.” Europeana, www.europeana.eu/en/stories/space-age-fashion. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.

“Two for the Road.” Minnie Muse, www.minniemuse.com/articles/musings/two-for-the-road. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.