This is sad news that was announced this Friday, February 3. Paco Rabanne died at the age of 88, as revealed by our colleagues from Telegram. A page that turns for this famous couturier and perfumer, who had managed to make a name for himself over the years. Born in 1934 in Pasaia, in the Spanish Basque Country, he fled the Spanish Civil War with his mother. He studied architecture at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris, which allowed him to live from his passion. His real name was Francisco Rabaneda y Cuervo, but when he began to rise to prominence he opted for a nickname. In 1959 he published his first fashion drawings in the American newspaper Women’s Wear Daily. It was under the name of Franck Rabanne that these were discovered and it was later that he became Paco Rabanne. An identity that never left him and, in 1966, he officially founded his eponymous brand. Highly regarded over the years, Paco Rabanne was an essential face in fashion. “He’s not a couturier, he’s a metallurgist!”, said Coco Chanel of him, admiring his work.
Paco Rabanne made an impression in particular thanks to his singular creations. From the start of her career, her chainmail-style dresses had attracted all eyes and her happening-like fashion shows were very popular. Paco Rabanne wanted to be different and he didn’t want to be like everyone else. “Not everyone can be a star. You have to know how to be smart,” he first said to students from La Croix-Rouge high school in Brest, during a meeting in 2010. is to talk about yourself, to differentiate yourself from others. Never copy, “he said then. Advice he followed throughout his career. If his creations were very popular, Paco Rabanne was also one of the first, with Yves Saint-Laurent, to have paraded models with black skin. He had also collaborated with the film industry and in particular for the film Barbarella, released in 1968. In it, Jane Fonda wore a metallic costume that has never been forgotten. Paco Rabanne was also passionate about occult sciences and he had multiplied appearances on television sets, all very noticed.
INFO THE TELEGRAM. The great fashion designer, perfumer and businessman #PacoRabanne died in Portsall (29) near #Brest, where he lived, we learned this Friday. He was 88.https://t.co/eQ1G8mYf8W
– The Telegram Brest (@TLGBrest) February 3, 2023
Paco Rabanne: why was he no longer in the spotlight?
Paco Rabanne is a key figure in fashion, but he was much less present on the front of the stage in recent years. However, he went to meet others to talk about his youth and his career. Installed in a small Breton town since 2004, it was very popular with the inhabitants. “He was someone quite popular in the town. He had the simplicity of men who know where they come from”, explained Marguerite Lamour, mayor of Ploudalmézeau-Portsall, in the columns of the Telegram. His death upsets the world of fashion but his creations will continue to live and be highly appreciated.
Paco Rabanne © LALO YASKY
