Paco Rabanne’s Julien Dossena On The “Radical Sensuality” Of His S/S'21 Collection

For his return to the runway, Julien Dossena brought his Paco Rabanne show to rue Commines near his house in Le Marais. Inside the venue, mirrored bead curtains formed a space within the space, which had been fitted with socially distanced seats for the small number of guests attending Paris Fashion Week this season. For Dossena, doing a show was an important part in his return to a new normal, as he told Anders Christian Madsen backstage.

Why did you have the show here in rue Commines?

I live in this neighbourhood, which is super diverse and super inspiring. There are a lot of different people with different points of view, who mix and match different stuff together. It’s always been very inspiring to me. I wanted to base it on this street realness. During lockdown we were all stuck at home, unable to go outside. I was missing it a lot. You know, you build the fantasy of what you miss.
What did you miss about it, specifically?

Seeing girls, seeing what she’s pairing her jeans with, what kind of sneakers, what kind of hairdo, and attitude. This kind of feeling.

How did you approach this feeling?

I went about it with a view of a wardrobe, but of course fantasising about what I want. There’s a bit of an “off” feeling. The proportions are a super elongated as if you took something vintage, something new, something colourful. There’s a bit of a flea market feeling: a mix and match of textures and different references, like a collage. That’s what I feel when I look at girls in the street.
Why is it inspiring to you?

It creates different individualities. You can read the narrative of every character in the street from what they’re wearing: what they want to be, where they come from, what they’re searching for in life.

How did you express it in the collection?

In terms of clothes themselves, it’s a classic grain de poudre smoking with a super long skirt that looks as if you took a trouser and split it in half. There are Spanish embroideries like bonbons. Chainmail printed in leopard and worn as a robe over jeans, as if you were half dressed – very local – and going out to buy something down the street.

What was your intention behind the undressed elements?

An exaggerated curve. A sharp, more radical sensuality. The right to wear cleavage. A Monica Vitti vibe, but for now.

Those looks also have a lockdown “comfort dressing” vibe about them.

Yeah, it’s the half-home-half-out kind of thing, like a jersey dress that’s actually super relaxed but covered in sequins. It’s a bit “bad taste”, also: ironic. Not bourgeois.

That’s also quite flea market. Have the Paris flea markets opened again?

Yes, I’ve been back. I go a lot for furniture and other objects.

Did you stay in Paris during lockdown?

No, I was outside of Paris, about 50 kilometres, with more space and more friends. I couldn’t stand the idea of being alone in Paris, so we decided to co-quarantine.

How come you chose to have a live runway show?

Because I’ve missed it. Of course, we’re being super respectful of everything. For me it’s good to see clothes in real life. I wanted people to be there and understand. We work with teams that work on shows: production, models, casting, hair, makeup. You can’t just say, “Oh, we’re not doing a show.” They have to work as well. So, it’s a little bit of a resistance. A safe resistance.

Appropriately, you added some real showpieces at the end...

They were like art installations, as if they were living sculptures. It takes about two weeks to make them.