May 24: Save for a somewhat absurd premonition that the Mir Space Station was going to crash into Paris at the turn of the new millennium, killing all its occupants, Paco Rabanne has been a keen visionary since he launched his label in the Fall of 1966. Though he may have shocked and dismayed the public with that first collection -- aptly entitled "12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Material" -- the revolutionary Rhoidoid plastic dresses he showed, and the stripped rubber and hammered chain-mail pieces which were to follow, became so influential, derivations were still marching down the runway for fall 2003.
But, as futuristic as Rabanne's ideas appeared, he would modestly argue that he was only illustrating the mood of the era. "Ask him. He'll say 'I did with my clothes what the artists were doing with their paintings'," says Rosemary Rodriguez, who's become the voice and vision for the now 70 year-old Rabanne since she took over as the house's creative director two-and-a-half years ago.
Much like the man Rodriguez regards as her "spiritual father," it is a reflection of the times - a portrait of today's woman - that the Spanish-born designer wishes to offer each season. "I don't have the pretension to invent something futuristic," says Rodriguez via a trans-Atlantic call from the Paris atelier. "Women have to be so many things today - sensual, strong, fragile... we seduce in clothes, we have a family in life in clothes...the style exercise for me is to create clothing that she can be a woman in." To that end, Rodriguez, who sharpened her talents working at Dior (under Gianfranco Ferre) and Thierry Mugler, has set out to soften the modern warrior Rabanne depicted over 35 years ago.

Metal, leather, and plastic all still compose the collection, but now a woman's touch has been added. "I love metal - in architecture, in clothing - but I wanted to lighten it, make it more sensual - mix the harshness, the strength of it with some poetry," details Rodriguez, who for fall 2003 wove pearls with steel to create slim-lined cocktail dresses and hung white cashmere wool military coats over them. Luxurious lambskin trenches are secured with metal rings and orange is splashed in to add a warm glow to the cool silver and blacks. The slender, willowy silhouette of the collection is a reference to "la poupette," a marionette pendant said to bring luck and great energy to the world. "This is a collection of hope and optimism - something we all need."
And no one seems more pleased with it then Rabanne himself, who though still present and involved with the company, has allowed Rodriguez the freedom to move it forward. "He is the soul; I am the designer," she explains, sounding much like the mystical man himself. Recounting the time they met three years ago, Rodriguez hints that it was destiny that drew them together. "We spoke not a word about fashion, just about life and our feelings. There was such a great energy between us -- like I had known him all my life. I never dreamed of working for Paco, but I believe things happen for a certain reason." And, when Rodriguez assumed the creative reins, she chose not to open up the archives for inspiration and direction, but rather learn from Rabanne himself.
"I said to Paco, 'Tell me what you did, what did you feel, tell me a story...' For me that's important. The archives...they aren't alive."
Seeing into the future, Rodriguez envisions Paco Rabanne, the lifestyle. "It is so modern, such a way of life. It's most interesting to me to create a real universe around the brand," she explains. To that end, she plans to introduce home design, as well as a slew of accessories. "There is a world to express in accessories," she effuses. And if anyone were to foresee a new world, it'd be the house of Paco Rabanne.
Bureau Report