Is it new? Is there something new over there? Ohmygawdlezcheckitout? Maybe it’s kind of new? It’s the twice-yearly treasure hunt we like to call fashion week: a relentless quest for something we haven’t seen before, or maybe something we’ve seen before but kind of forgot about and now like again. That’s why everyone was at the Paco Rabanne show: because what the very handsome Julien Dossena does there feels fresh in a current fashion climate that’s getting a bit stuffy. (And possibly because it also feels a little bit like Balenciaga under Nicholas Ghesquière, too, which was of course Dossena’s former place of work). Thursday afternoon, Paco Rabanne opened a window and let some of that fresh air in, and all of a sudden everyone seemed to breathe a little easier.
It was great, first of all because he played a Kaytranada remix of Janet Jackson’s timeless If, but also because it was so shameless about wanting to be modern. “Super modernity,” Julien said backstage, noting how his heavy infusion of sportswear to the Paco Rabanne aesthetic was “a good way to translate that”. He talked about the sensuality of the old house, and how plastic garments and a French 60s vibe balanced out the sterner, more structured – or “radical,” as he said – lines of geometry that were everywhere in the collection, next to a bit of trademark chainmail, mais bien sûr. And here’s something that was also quite refreshing. Backstage, Dossena cracked a joke, something there’s far too little of in fashion. “She’s kind of like a yoga teacher,” he winked, describing the new Paco Rabanne girl. “You know, leaving her yoga course in her little leather jacket.” New.
Credits
Text Anders Christian Madsen
Photography Harry Carr