Paco RabanneFall/Winter 2021
Confronting reality with an irreverent attitude, Paco Rabanne Fall/Winter ’21 collection is an affirmation of decadence. This season, Julien Dossena revisits the exquisite, exploring conspicuous embellishment as a form of empowerment. Familiar bourgeois and aristocratic codes possess a noticeable subversive streak. Eccentricity is embraced across various female identities. Looks layered with ornamentation transmit resilience to ravishing effect.
At the heart of this Paco Rabanne collection is a hedonistic spirit: the pursuit of pleasure that culminates in piles of oversized, assemblage jewellery, sensual fabrics, graphic motifs and playfully precious decoration. In Prince of Wales check or tweed, mid-length masculine coats boasting boxier shoulders are appropriated with lashings of faux fur and ornate finishings. Whether dressed in fluid velvet and jersey ensembles that conjure ‘70s silhouettes, or tailoring that reinterprets classic circa-1940s suits, these women give off a magnetic, individualist allure.
Building upon recent themes, jewels have transformed from kitsch 2D prints into exaggerated 3D finery – draped atop python print metal mesh or arranged across the upper body like deconstructed diadems. Boudoir dressing is translated with soft naivete, while classic patterns such as Fair Isle, polka dots and micro florals play out with pop panache.
Additional richness is revealed through visibly tactile fabrics: smooth satin, plush mohair, frothy tulle and silver devoré velvet. A distinct energy radiates through bursts of candy colour and jewel tones: coral, ultra-violet, emerald green and blush pink enhancing the signature Paco Rabanne metallics. Dainty detailing returns in a more twisted register: frilled high-neck collars cut with leather bows; guipure lace incrustations that pulse with colour; T-bar dance shoes featuring the angular archive heel. Velvet and metal mesh in jewel tones capture the season’s extroverted sensibility.
Imbued with nuanced cinematic references, this collection shifts between exuberance and intrigue. Through iconic Paco Rabanne elements and remixes of day and evening wear, it depicts strong female characters whose outré style reflects their interior and exterior worlds.
