Paco Rabanne A/W 2018
Julien Dossena fuses bourgeois staples with Studio 54 flair

Mood board: Injecting a warmth and wearability into the futuristic chainmail dresses that Paco Rabanne is renowned for is a difficult task. There’s an inherent isolation in the house’s signature metal links which clang and clink with the movement of the body. But for A/W 2018, Julien Dossena’s nineties negligees, which twinkled with plastic paillettes, or his skirts created from links of metallic daisies or plastic strips of abstract camo-print had a relaxed and wonderfully wearable touch. He’d looked to two archive Rabanne designs — Audrey Hepburn’s mirrored shift from the film Two For The Road (1967) and Françoise Hardy’s white chain-link top seen on the July 1967 cover of Elle France, but this wasn’t about a pastiche of past silhouettes. In a modern twist, the brand’s signatures, ones that would have taken centre stage at Le Sept nightclub in Paris during the late sixties, were teamed with cowboy boots, or pool sliders, and layered with Breton striped tees, denim jackets and trenchcoats.
Best in show: Dossena was fascinated by the concept of bourgeois daywear, presenting staples of the Parisian wardrobe like white shirts, camel roll necks, pea coats and gold-buttoned blazers. That insouciant styling meant that this was a collection for any woman, whether she favours an iridescent chain-link tube dress or simply a tailored camel coat.
Finishing touches: Rodeo-inspired footwear is fast becoming the strongest accessory trend of A/W 2018, and Dossena’s chunky Western boots were a talking point as guests left the show. His pool sliders, which jangled with metal hardware as models sashayed down the catwalk, will also have appeal for a younger customer, keen to bring Rabanne’s Studio 54 sensibility to the sandy shores of Ibiza.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Warp Records announces its first event in over a decade at the Barbican
‘A Warp Happening,' landing 14 June, is guaranteed to be an epic day out
By Tianna Williams
-
Cure your ‘beauty burnout’ with Kindred Black’s artisanal glassware
Does a cure for ‘beauty burnout’ lie in bespoke design? The founders of Kindred Black think so. Here, they talk Wallpaper* through the brand’s latest made-to-order venture
By India Birgitta Jarvis
-
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt will be shown at Tate Modern
The 42-panel quilt, which commemorates those affected by HIV and AIDS, will be displayed in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in June 2025
By Anna Solomon
-
Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France Femmes
Marking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
By Jack Moss
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu Miu
In this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
By Jack Moss
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from A/W 2022 menswear shows
A Kubrickian space odyssey at Prada; a recreation of the Pont Alexandre III in Paris at Dior; and colourful, artist-created flags at Loewe: explore the best runway sets from the A/W 2022 menswear shows
By Laura Hawkins
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear shows
From giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
By Laura Hawkins
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2021: discotheque chic to apres-ski sleek
By Laura Hawkins
-
Walk this way: navigating S/S 2021's Paris Fashion Week
How the City of Lights looked to the sartorial realities of our much changed lifestyles
By Laura Hawkins
-
Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins
-
Chanel A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s
By Laura Hawkins