Mood board: Fashion’s role in female empowerment is a constant topic of discussion during fashion month, as brands work to present strength and power without resorting to gimmicks or marketing tricks. Paco Rabanne has a long history of liberation. In the late sixties, the label’s metal disc-emblazoned dresses were a symbol of space age discovery. ‘Super refined even fragile, but a fragility that gives you strength,’ was how creative director Julien Dossena described the feminine power he wished to convey for A/W 2020. He presented a sorority of chainmail-clad women, resembling Joan of Arc knights, belly dancing temptresses or masked mystical priestesses. The other armour in their arsenal? Dossena zipped between the past and present, conveying a ‘collision of times’, with puritanical suiting, twinkling bodysuits resembling medieval armour, lacquered leather military coats, ceremonial smocks and tasseled knitwear in swathing monastic shapes. Silhouettes associated with male power were usurped, and imagined more sensually for women. ‘Femininity is an attitude that’s also violent,’ he added backstage, ‘and women need to express that.’
Scene setting: Dossena switched Rabanne’s usual Grand Palais setting, in favour of the impressive arch-lined medieval palace Conciergerie. It was here that Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before she was sent to the guillotine. Models walked through its enormous history-lined hall in a monastic procession to operatic church music.
Finishing touches: The sixties and seventies is a constant source of inspiration for Dossena, who last season looked to flower power and psychedelia. For autumn, he paired his strong, ceremonial silhouettes with sky high platforms.
Paco Rabanne A/W 2020
Paco Rabanne A/W 2020
Paco Rabanne A/W 2020
Paco Rabanne A/W 2020
-
The bespoke Jaguar E-Type GTO melds elements from every era of the classic sports carECD Automotive Design’s one-off commission caters to a client who wanted to combine the greatest hits of Jaguar’s E-Type along with modern conveniences and more power
-
Casa Sanlorenzo debuts in Venice as a new hub for contemporary artThe luxury yachting leader unveils a stunning new space in a palazzo restored by Piero Lissoni – where art, innovation, and sustainability come together
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on lifeThanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being rebonr as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
-
Horace’s new men’s scent is the linen shirt of the fragrance closetVetiver Primavera, the new fragrance from men’s grooming brand Horace, is casual but elegant, says Wallpaper’s Mary Cleary – a citrussy scent for summer
-
‘Don’t forget to get the bread!’ Serge Lutens writes an ode to a singular perfumePublished exclusively by Wallpaper*, Serge Lutens writes an ode to Jeux de Peau, a singular perfume of his creation inspired by a childhood memory of baking bread
-
French skincare brand PERS doesn’t believe in overcomplicated routinesFrench skincare brand PERS – an acronym for ‘protect, enhance, repair, and stimulate’ – has recently arrived in the UK. The mastermind behind it, Dr Antoni Calmon, tells Wallpaper* about his protocol
-
What did Christian Dior’s favourite ‘invisible’ flower smell like?Dior’s Francis Kurkdijan recreates the scent of a rare lily of the valley species in Le Muguet, the first olfactory chapter of new perfume collection Les Récoltes Majeures
-
Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrastThe Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
-
This perfume bottle archive was nearly lost. Now, it offers a rare whiff of fragrance historyFifty blueprints from a forgotten French crystal manufacturer will be for sale as part of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair
-
How an 18th-century mansion became a Loewe wonderland for Paris Fashion WeekDrawing on the act of scrapbooking, Jonathan Anderson took over the Hôtel de Maisons with a self-reflective A/W 2025 presentation, shown alongside colourful artworks from the brand’s collection
