Fashion designer Paco Rabanne – known for his flamboyant Space Age designs – dies aged 88
Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born designer, has died at the age of 88 in Portsall, Brittany.
The death of Francisco Rabaneda y Cuervo – Rabanne’s birth name – was confirmed by a spokesperson for Spanish group Puig, which controls the Paco Rabanne label he exited two decades ago.
He founded his namesake brand in1966, and while it is now best-known for is aftershaves and perfumes, it was his Space Age designs in the 1960s, that first brought him to the attention of many.
A statement shared on the fashion house’s official Instagram account said: “The House of Paco Rabanne wishes to honour our visionary designer and founder who passed away today at the age of 88.
“Among the most seminal fashion figures of the 20th century, his legacy will remain a constant source of inspiration.
“We are grateful to Monsieur Rabanne for establishing our avant-garde heritage and defining a future of limitless possibilities.”
Dubbed an “enfant terrible” in his early years, he helped upset the status quo of the Paris fashion scene, alongside fellow French designers Pierre Cardin and Andre Courreges.
His flamboyant designs frequently used unconventional material such as metal, paper, and plastic, with his first collection aptly titled: “Manifesto: 12 unwearable dresses in contemporary materials”.
Presented by barefoot models on a catwalk in a luxury Paris hotel, the collection included a chain mail-inspired silver minidress made of aluminium plates, which was worn over a flesh-coloured bodysuit.
Baroness Helen Bachofen von Echt went on to wear the dress to a party in New York where she danced with Frank Sinatra, according to the V&A museum.
Pics: Shutterstock/David Thorpe/ANL
Embracing cutting edge materials and modern ways of working, he used plyers rather than a needle and thread to create the craft outfits, which made from strips of plastic linked with metal rings.
The collection – which simultaneously looked both futuristic and medieval – has gone on to inspire numerous contemporary designers.
He famously created the green costume worn by Jane Fonda in the 1968 cult-classic science-fiction film Barbarella, with numerous celebrities including Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Blackpink all going on to wear his clothes.
Commenting on the influential 1966 show, president of Puig’s beauty and fashion division Jose Manuel Albesa said: “Paco Rabanne made transgression magnetic. Who else could induce fashionable Parisian women (to) clamour for dresses made of plastic and metal.”
Rabanne teamed up with Spain’s Puig family in the late 1960s, launching his collection of perfumes and scents, which would go on to serve as a springboard for the company’s international expansion and vast commercial success.
His debut fragrance, Calandre, is still available today, and his Lady Million Eau de Parfum – presented in a distinctive bottle in the shape of a gold ingot – remains a best-seller.
Pic: AP
Born in 1934 in the Basque Country, in the western Pyrenees, he escaped the Spanish Civil War by fleeing to France at the age of five alongside his mother, who was a head seamstress at Balenciaga.
He initially studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, before beginning his fashion career in the early 1960s.
He started his career sketching high end handbags and shoes, before branching into fashion and jewellery, selling his large plastic accessories and buttons to to couture houses.
Reflective of the mid-1960s cultural climate, his garments used post-war industrial materials – creating a trademark chunky and bold look. His architectural background also shone out in much of his work.
After a three-decade long career, Rabanne stepped back from the design house in 1999.
In 2010, the designer was made an Officier de la Legion d’Honneur in France, the country’s highest civilian award.
Entertainment
MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes
MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has stepped down over allegations he made a series of inappropriate sexual comments on a range of programmes over 17 years.
Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with Wallace being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
In an interview with the BBC, the Newsnight presenter, who was a celebrity contestant on MasterChef in 2011, claimed Wallace used “sexualised language”.
“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if anyone engaged with this. It was completely one-way traffic,” Wark said.
“I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really didn’t expect to happen.”
Sky News has contacted Wallace’s representative for comment.
Wallace avoided questions when asked by Sky News about the claims.
Kirsty Wark. File pic: PA
‘Fully cooperating’
Banijay UK said the complaints were made to the BBC this week by “individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows”.
The company said the 60-year-old, who has been a co-presenter and judge of the popular cooking show since 2005, was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
The TV star’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, BBC News reports.
Previous investigation
Last month, Wallace responded to reports that a previous BBC review had found he could continue working at the corporation following reports of an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities.
Wallace said those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show more than half a decade ago.
In an Instagram post following an article in The Sun newspaper, he wrote: “The story that’s hitting the newspapers was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
“And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.”
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Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015.
Wallace and his wife Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014. Pic: PA
Wallace has featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.
He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.
Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be transmitted as planned, the PA news agency understands.
Entertainment
Robbie Williams says people from the 90s shouldn’t be shamed for how they think and feel
Robbie Williams has said people from the 90s “shouldn’t be held accountable for how we think and we feel now”.
The Rock DJ singer attended the European premiere of his biopic Better Man in London, calling it one of his “proudest moments” of his career to date.
Despite the film shining a light on the lows connected to being a young pop star, he told Sky News he holds no grievances for the past.
“People from the 90s shouldn’t be held accountable for how we think and we feel now,” he said.
“We didn’t know and now we do. So things can and will change. And I can already feel it around me, how I am treated and how we treat each other.
“But you can’t know what you don’t know, and we just didn’t know in the 90s and that has to be okay.”
Portrayed as a CGI chimpanzee, the film follows the rise, fall and resurrection of Robbie Williams as an artist – inspired by how the former Take That member views himself.
Robbie Williams as a chimpanzee in the film. Pic: Panther
Williams said after watching the film a number of times already, there is one part that continues to affect him.
“There’s the bit with Nicole Appleton that always gets me because she’s a wonderful person, she’s an angel,” he said.
“All the other people that I threw under the bus in the film, they did something to me…. I did something to her. I wasn’t a great boyfriend and I feel great shame about that. But we’re good [now]. I’ve got great love for her and she has for me, too.”
Directed by The Greatest Showman filmmaker Michael Gracey, the two-hour 11 minutes musical includes extended dance sequences and refreshed versions of his back catalogue of songs.
Gracey believes it is Williams’ vulnerability that allows this film to stand out from the other biopics.
“Not a lot of us know what it’s like to stand in front of 135 guys and perform, but I think strangely he has this incredibly relatable story,” he said.
“The thing I value the most is that he’s been really able to go to those dark places, which I think a lot of music biopics suffer from being sanitised or watered down.”
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He added: “No one could accuse this thing of those things, but I think you feel the light so much more when you go to those places.”
Better Man is in cinemas on 26 December.
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