Designer A-Z

Paco Rabanne

Autumn/Winter 2012

SHOW SCHEDULES

By Carrie Tyler

You can tell Manish Arora is having fun at the helm of Paco Rabanne.

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His maximalist persuasion coupled with Rabanne's archive of flamboyant costume design make for a match made in filmic heaven.

Arora's second collection for the label zeroed in once again to the Barbarella years of the 60s and 70s, a film Rabanne designed the costumes for. So we have a fleet of strong, sexy glamazons bedecked in gold and silver chainmail, armour-like leather gilets with peaked shoulders and killer heels. And who better to pull off this Brigitte Bardot/Jane Fonda look than the collective powers of Karlie Kloss and Lindsay Wixson.

This kind of look could so easily go the way of fancy dress, but Arora's skillful cutting ensured it was a modern evolution. On top of the chainmail dresses and jumpsuits, there were sleek separates, detail-free mushroom leather coats, mohair knits and cream crepe shifts. The 60s kitten has become a cat...