Coco Chanel once commented that Paco Rabanne was the “metalworker of fashion”. Known for pushing the limits on wearable fashion, Rabanne constantly questioned the conventions of clothing design.
Rabanne started his own fashion house in 1966 and retired in 1999 after his final collection. Since then, the house has been in the hands of multiple directors. Now 29-year-old designer Lydia Maurer is the creative director. In a recent interview, Maurer said, “This is not a fashion house that’s purely about style, but mostly about handwork and craftsmanship, and texture and material.”
This past fall, when we were in Paris, we had the honor of stepping inside the studio of this historic French fashion house the week before Paris Fashion Week. Watching the workers meticulously craft every garment by hand (especially considering most of the pieces are made of metal!) was really astonishing… and I hope you’ll gather that from the images below.
Welcome to the studio of an always-modern Paco Rabanne.
Beautiful! I wish I knew how to make my own clothes…
http://lasaloperie.blogspot.com.br/
you can see the tenderness of the craft in these images! so cool to be able to witness that.
great post!, I feel so inspired now, tomorrow I will go to work happier than ever that I work at a studio too. I loved it so much I had to make a post about it.
http://journalpash.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-story-behind-dress-paco-rabbane.html
xx!
Maria
Jamie,
I’ve never heard of Paco Rabanne before this and it’s a shame because his work is so wonderful. This is why I love your blog so much after all these years. You’re always introducing fascinating and talented individuals… so inspiring!
Love, Youa
Wow, such intricate details! I think the black-and-white aspect makes us really focus on the designs. The craftsmanship is amazing. It’s great that you get to see how the workers bring the ideas to life at the studio. What a cool experience!
beautiful photos. you can tell the craftmanship is simply top-notch, and it’s wonderful to see the artists who create such exquisite garments.
Molly {Dreams in HD}
http://dreamsinhd.blogspot.com/
I love your black and white photos! They’re always so classy and they make remember the golden years.Well, actually all your photos! But those ones specially!
http://pilanaandcompany.blogspot.com.ar/