“I wanted to make a concrete impression; the idea of a woman that is free, moody, never the object, one that has a complete control of her finances and knows how it is to be independent.” -Paco Rabanne

Son of Balenciaga’s head seamstress, Paco Rabanne has classic couture in his blood but decided to go his own way. Known for his space age designs that are expert feats of engineering. Rabanne often uses metals in his designs utilizing a chainmail like technique to link pieces of aluminium, plastic, and other materials into a garment. He started out as a jewelry designer where he learned how to work with metals.

He designed for Balenciaga, Dior and Givenchy before his first show debuted in 1966 aptly called Twelve Unwearable Dresses. All of the designs were made of shiny aluminum, plastic disc necklaces, and wire used to create orbiting designs around the models. Rabanne is also known for his sculpted metal bodysuits worn by Jane Fonda in the 1968 film Barbarella. Rabanne didn’t work exclusively in hard materials. In his later collections he was one of the first designers to combine knitwear and leather in one garment. He also experimented with the use of animal hair in his designs.