Status: 03.02.2023 4:07 p.m
Paco Rabanne has died in France at the age of 88. Known for his metallic and futuristic designs, the Spanish designer has been successfully launching perfumes for decades.
The fashion world mourns the loss of Spanish designer Paco Rabanne. The fashion designer, known for his extravagant designs and perfumes, died in France at the age of 88, according to the Spanish cosmetics group Puig.
“He is one of the most important personalities in the fashion world of the 20th century and his legacy will remain a constant source of inspiration,” the fashion house paid tribute to him on Instagram. “We are grateful to Monsieur Rabanne for establishing our avant-garde heritage and defining a future of unlimited possibilities.” He had “shaped generations with his radical vision of fashion”.
Fashion label Paco Rabanne’s spring and summer collection at last year’s New York Fashion Week.
Image: picture alliance / Captital Pict
Early contact with the fashion world
Born in San Sebastián, Basque, in 1934, Rabanne grew up surrounded by the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. After his father was killed by Franco troops, his mother went into exile with him in France in 1939. His mother was also the first person who was to influence his later creations: she worked as the first seamstress for the renowned fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga.
However, Rabanne initially chose a different direction and studied architecture in Paris. He also designed fashion sketches for various labels such as Dior and Givenchy. Later, Rabanne also worked as a freelance fashion illustrator.
In the 1960s, Rabanne founded his eponymous company, which has been fully owned by the Spanish cosmetics group Puig for several decades.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/MAXPPP
Penchant for futuristic designs
Eventually, Rabanne founded his eponymous fashion label. The fashion designer had a particular penchant for futuristic designs. In 1966 he presented his first haute couture collection called “Twelve Unwearable Garments”, which partly consisted of pieces of metal with sharp edges.
In the years that followed, Rabanne amazed with his innovative designs that broke all norms. Unlike other fashion designers at the time, he used little satin or velvet, instead playing with materials such as metal, glass or plastic. That’s another reason why Coco Chanel liked to call him a “metal worker”. In the science fiction film “Barbarella” Jane Fonda wore his costumes and made him world famous.
As a fashion designer, he had almost completely retired from his company a few years ago. At the end of the 1990s, Rabanne left his label to pursue another passion: perfume.