Paco Rabanne brings the heat to summer ‘22, with hypnotic prints and patterns covering jumpsuits, dresses and coords that cut and skim elegantly in all the right places. “I was thinking not just about optic effects but the synesthetic sensations of summer – the sound of the shore, sunshine warming the skin, light glinting off the water,” says creative director Julien Dossena of the sensorial collection. “I wanted to translate these stimulations in ways that would feel immediate and immersive.”
Amongst detailed prints of pansies and sunflowers are those created in collaboration with the Victor Vasarely Foundation - a modern ode to the geometric compositions of the French-Hungarian artist in the ‘60 and ‘70s, admired by Paco Rabanne himself. Aptly, the collection was shown on Victor Vasarely’s Hexa Grace in Monaco, a large-scale public installation of 24,000 tiles, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
“There was a desire to explore graphism as a panoply of ideas,” says Dossena. “There is both a vibration and a hand-feel to these looks that gives them so much texture.” Printed bucket hats and bonnets, and criss-cross-laced platform sandals complete the top-to-toe optic impact.
Happily, the brand’s trademark shimmer is not lost in the deluge of print and colour. Sequin-fringed sarongs, silver beaded crochet, metallic paillette jumpsuits and its signature chainmail evening bags signal beachside brilliance.
