The 1980s are having a moment in Paris, with an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs exploring the decade’s impact on French fashion, design and the graphic arts.
For his pre-fall collection for Paco Rabanne, Julien Dossena drew inspiration from the period, which ushered in a number of bold architectural projects, from the glass pyramid at the Louvre museum to the silver dome known as La Géode, which served as the virtual backdrop for the look book.
Throwback elements abounded, from the New Wave-style pattern on a yellow short-sleeved blouse with a studded leather collar to the roomy cut of a cropped and buckled blouson worn with glossy red track pants. Animal prints popped on flared or cropped pants, a chubby faux-fur coat and a ruffle-trimmed chainmail top and draped skirt.
But this was no retro revival: Dossena twisted prom dresses with unexpected volumes, such as a high-waisted pannier skirt and stretched sleeves on an electric blue zebra print velvet dress. He dressed down the brand’s signature silver mesh, pairing a liquid metallic top with khaki cargo pants or combining an ankle-grazing chainmail skirt with a Fair Isle sweater and scarf.
Most eye-catching were his trompe-l’oeil dresses and tops, which played with nude fabric to create the illusion of exposed flesh at the shoulders or waist.
“You can feel a lot of skin around in the streets, that women are playing with that, with how they want to express their sensuality,” he noted. “They want to be free and it’s almost, I would say, being militant also on their bodies, their choice to dress exactly the way they want.”
You could easily picture Jenna Ortega hitting the awards circuit in his semi-nude evening gown, consisting of a sheer top with strategically placed jewel embroidery and a dip-waisted gathered white skirt.
“That new generation is really much more fashion-oriented and they don’t ask themselves if they can wear short on the red carpet or whatever, they go for it, and it’s much more interesting to work on projects,” Dossena said.
The designer will have another chance to flaunt his red carpet chops in March, when Paco Rabanne is set to return to the Paris Fashion Week women’s calendar for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic — just in time for the Oscars.