Aluminum, plastic, sponge, mesh—an incomplete list of materials that Paco Rabanne used to create clothes in the 1960s. The choice of "industrial" raw materials was not accidental: Paco had an architecture degree, and his mother worked in the atelier of Cristobal Balenciaga, who was known for his sculptural silhouettes.
Innovation has remained a part of the brand for more than half a century, just like the metallic dresses that conquered the hearts of it-girl of the time—from Jane Fonda to Françoise Hardy. The aluminum dresses were created for dancing: ‘I thought that women who work all day in flat shoes and modest suits should reveal their mystery and femininity in the evening,’ the designer explained to the Chicago Tribune in 1967. ‘I had to offer them something like a second skin that rustles, shimmers, phosphoresces. Soft and sharp, elastic and hard, transparent and secretive.’ Today, the tradition of futurism in the fashion house is continued by creative director Julien Dossena, who previously worked at Chloé, Alexander McQueen, and Balenciaga.
