PACO RABANNE: The Master Couturier

"Paco Rabanne, a visionary Spanish fashion designer, redefined style in the 1960s with avant-garde pieces made from unique materials like metal, fur and paper. His pioneering designs, including costumes for 'Barbarella', made a lasting impression on the fashion world. His brand maintains its creative edge, harmonizing artistry and opulence across apparel and scents."

1934

Francisco 'Paco Rabaneda Cuervo, more commonly known by his alias Paco Rabanne, was a fashion designer born on 18 February 1934 in Saint Sebastian, Spain. He fled from Spain to France with his mother as an infant during the Spanish Civil War. It was his mother who worked as the chief seamstress at Balenciaga that gave him the nickname Paco. Rabanne was interested in architecture as a teenager and he went on to study it at the Ecole National Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris where he met many other artists in the industry. There, to finance his studies, he began producing accessories for couturiers and became involved in the artistic movement at the time.

1960s

In the 1960s, Rabanne began creating jewellery for Givenchy, Dior, Balenciaga, Nina Ricca, Pierre Cardin, Courreges and others. He made his connections in the industry through university as well as support from his mother. In 1965, Rabanne began his career as a designer by presenting his first collection in Paris called the 'The Unwearables' - a collection consisting of 12 otherworldly dresses and including his first plastic dress. Rabanne over the years became known for using unconventional material such as metals and plastic, he built this identity over multiple decades and stuck with it from his very first collection till his retirement.

1966