Paco Rabanne
1934 - Present
Bibliography
In 1934, Paco Rabanne was born in St. Sebastian, Spain Rabannes’ mother was Chief Seamstress at the Spanish Salon of Balenciaga. When the Spanish War broke out he and his mother fled to France where, in 1951, he began studying architecture in Paris. To help pay for his living expenses he started designing accessories, such as handbags, buttons, and jewelry made mostly of plastic, to fashion houses such as Courreges, Cardin, Balenciaga and Givenchy. In 1966, Rabanne presented his '12 unwearable dresses in contemporary material' and all the models were barefoot. He opened his first outlet in the same year. Then in 1968, Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda was released, in which Rabanne designed the costumes for. He made disposable pajamas, called 'Pacojamas', for the Hilton hotel chain. Today Paco Rabanne is still active in the fashion world with clothing, perfume and accessories.
Critical Analysis
This era is the beginning of the 'free love' movement in history. Beatles make their live American debut, Twiggy is on top of the model world with the new lithe silhouette, and Andy Warhol paints Cambell's Cans. It was a time where the world was changing dramatically and new innovations and ideas arising. Paco Rabanne is the essence of this "Space Age" era, and being the first designer to make his designs out of unconventional materials. You can see influences from Courreges and Cardin in his designs, and it seems that the threesome feed of of each others vibe during that era. While Paco was designing accessories for various Paris fashion houses he acquired a technique for stitching, molding, gluing and even riveting different materials together. He is known to use unique materials to make his designs, including, plastic, crinkled paper, aluminum, cotton toweling, leather patchwork, ostrich feathers, Vilbond and upholstery tassels. He would construct the materials together using heat-welded seams and colored tape as a fixing as well as decoration. Chanel said "He's not a couturier, he's a metal worker" (Pavitt), which sounds kind of rude but nonetheless is at least partly true. Many words come to mind when you see a Paco Rabanne design, such as, innovative, unconventional, unique and impractical. He says "My clothes are like weapons. When they are fastened they make a sound like the trigger of a revolver" (Pavitt). Rabanne not only designed futuristically, but also made predictions about the future. He said that women would dress themselves in light and gas, spraying on aerosol clothing (Gero).
Future Designs
Paco Roberto contributed many things to the fashion world. He was the first to use nonconventional materials his designs, as well as the first to use black models. Paco Rabanne is still actively designing today and you can see the aspects that were in his designs when he first started are still present. Rabanne has been an inspiration to many designers including Jean-Paul Gaultier, Donatella Versace, Miuccia Prada, and Yves Saint Pierre (The Metropolitain Museum of Art). All designers, know or unknown, who use unconventional materials and fabrics to construct their designs can give a large 'thanks' to Paco Rabanne.
Works Cited
Gero, Cassandra. Rabanne, Paco. 14 May 2009. 20 August 2013 <http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T2079897?q=paco+rabanne&search=quick&pos=1&_#firsthit>.
Huffington Post. Paco Rabanne's Impractical & Outrageous Dresses: A Look Back (PHOTOS). 26 May 2010. 3 September 2013 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/06/paco-rabanne-unwearable-_n_779919.html#176563>.
Jones, Kevin L. and Christina M. Johnson. Fabulous: Ten Years of FIDM Museum Acquisitions, 2000-2010. Los Angeles: FIDM Museum Press, 2011.
Paco Rabanne. Genesis. 17 August 2013 <http://www.pacorabanne.com/#!/en/genesis>.
Pavitt, Jane. "Fear and Fashion." South Kensington: V&A Publishing, 2008. 36, 61, 62, 63.
The Metropolitain Museum of Art. Search Results. 17 August 2013 <http://www.metmuseum.org/search-results?ft=Paco+Rabanne&rpp=10&pg=1>.
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers. Paco, Rabanne. 2007. 20 August 2013 <http://www.credoreference.com/entry/thfashion/rabanne_paco>.
Gero, Cassandra. Rabanne, Paco. 14 May 2009. 20 August 2013 <http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T2079897?q=paco+rabanne&search=quick&pos=1&_#firsthit>.
Huffington Post. Paco Rabanne's Impractical & Outrageous Dresses: A Look Back (PHOTOS). 26 May 2010. 3 September 2013 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/06/paco-rabanne-unwearable-_n_779919.html#176563>.
Jones, Kevin L. and Christina M. Johnson. Fabulous: Ten Years of FIDM Museum Acquisitions, 2000-2010. Los Angeles: FIDM Museum Press, 2011.
Paco Rabanne. Genesis. 17 August 2013 <http://www.pacorabanne.com/#!/en/genesis>.
Pavitt, Jane. "Fear and Fashion." South Kensington: V&A Publishing, 2008. 36, 61, 62, 63.
The Metropolitain Museum of Art. Search Results. 17 August 2013 <http://www.metmuseum.org/search-results?ft=Paco+Rabanne&rpp=10&pg=1>.
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers. Paco, Rabanne. 2007. 20 August 2013 <http://www.credoreference.com/entry/thfashion/rabanne_paco>.