Paco Rabanne Pre-Fall 2018
Julien Dossena stuck to his pre-season tradition of taking the label’s spirit into easier territory for a broader audience, building a lightweight, stretchable and stylish collection.
He toned down the disco vibe of recent collections a notch, but, ever-imaginative, brought in new sources of shine. Set at an angle, vertical stripes added a layer of sophistication to a body-hugging Ziggy Stardust-inspired Lurex pantsuit. A long, navy-blue knit dress projected a different kind of metallic stripe, paint roller-style this time, with a grunge effect.
And a flowing, black crepe de chine skirt with matching top was laden with a thick layer of shimmery gray fabric paint with a rubbery feel, as if the pieces had been dipped into a pot of gooey, plastic silver.
The French designer embellished a series of fitted, see-through dresses, skirts and trousers in solid black or light peach, with small metal studs, intended for layering. Using fabrics like jersey in his quest to create a bridge between dressing for evenings and daytime all at once, he also employed silver mesh, a mainstay of the label, to fashion one of the more elegant pieces: a spiraled skirt with a slit and no lining.
“I hate lining because it adds weight, it’s old and often there’s no reason for it since fabric is made to be close to the body. I try to lighten things as much as possible and make things as easy as possible,” he explained.
Revisiting a universal love affair with the concert T-shirt, Dossena splashed the album cover photo of a young Françoise Hardy onto sweaters. The yé-yé singing star and Paco Rabanne muse of the Sixties has long served as inspiration for the house, although never quite as directly, explained Dossena.
“We worked on the graphics to make it more sophisticated…with a retro, sepia look,” he said of the image.
The designer said he mainly had three potential clients in mind: the urban thirtysomething, attuned to the fashion world with sophisticated tastes; the twentysomething, keen for access to the brand at a lower price, and the more occasional client who happens upon a piece that might pique interest in discovering more from the label.
Launch Gallery: Paco Rabanne Pre-Fall 2018
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