Paco Rabanne, Spanish designer and king of chain-mail since he burst onto the fashion scene in the Sixties, has passed away at the age of 88. 'Among the most seminal fashion figures of the 20th century, his legacy will remain a constant source of inspiration,' read the statement on Paco Rabanne's Instagram.
Although Rabanne retired in 1999, his influence was very much woven into the house's DNA. The house's statement continued by thanking Monsieur Rabanne, 'for establishing our avant-garde heritage and defining a future of limitless possibilities'.
Rabanne, whose real name was Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo, presented his first collection in 1966, which was called '12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials'. According to WWD, it both 'enraged' the fashion press at the time and set him apart from his more traditional peers. His metallic dresses were a futuristic take on fashion that chimed with the decade's spirit of liberation.
He went on to dress some of the most luminous women of that era like Jane Birkin (as well as her then-partner Serge Gainsbourg, styling them in coordinating silver 'armour'), Françoise Hardy, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn, who famously wore on his chain-mail in the movie Two for the Road. He was also the costume designer on Barbarella - the '60s film starring Jane Fonda, which is actually about to get a remake with Sydney Sweeney - which gave his designs a fittingly sci-fi setting.
So enduring were these designs - little discs of metal making up each minidress - that they've become the backbone of the brand. You can still buy something similar today - this Chain-Mail Sleeveless Minidress, available for £2,900, looks an awful lot like Hepburn's - as well as chain-mail shoulder bags that have been carried by everyone from Carrie Bradshaw (in AJLT), Emrata and Dua Lipa.