His manifesto
For the debut of his namesake brand in 1966, he presented “Manifesto: 12 unwearable dresses in contemporary materials.” Over the next few years, he would experiment with looks made from moulded plastics, hammered metal, aluminum jersey and knitted fur that were at once sculptural and seductive. His iconic chainmail dresses helped define an era of shape-shifting fashion and remain emblematic of the house still today.
Faces
In 1967, when Françoise Hardy appeared in a mini-dress assembled from gold plates inlaid with diamonds, she radiated an image of Paco Rabanne that would shine for years to come as she continued to wear his designs. Among Mr. Rabanne’s other muses were Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin, Jeanne Moreau, and Audrey Hepburn, who wore a metallic paillette dress in Stanley Donen’s hit film, Two for the Road.