Photo: Courtesy of Rabanne
“Sometimes, people want a huge success, immediately. But building a brand takes time,” says creative director Julien Dossena. At the helm of Rabanne for the past 10 years, he credits his rising success to having steadily built a loyal and strong team. Today, the Paris-based maison founded in 1966 has 16 regional points of sale around the world. “When I arrived, people didn’t have any expectations. The house was known from the 60s and 70s, and it was a bit retro,” acknowledges Dossena. The steady climb has made Rabanne one of the most recognized and coveted brands today.
Photo: Courtesy of Rabanne
Dossena explains that at the heart of Rabanne is the desire for women to feel strong. “Super strong femininity,” he emphasizes as an essential component to the house – “and to the world. Women are moving on, living a life they want to live according to their rules,” he says. “Women are speaking out, telling their truth, and of course there is an impact in fashion.” Rabanne clothing is crafted “to defend and to attack,” he says, citing the Amazon woman as an ideal. The clothes are akin to weapons, but ones that can also reflect their wearer’s sensuality. Dossena remarks that back in the Sixties, Rabanne was the only one to express this. “It’s not a pretty Parisian lady, who is the wife of a bourgeois husband, who has to dress in couture because of the circles she walks in,” he remarks. The maison continues to resonate strongly with those values today.
Photo: Courtesy of Rabanne
The house of Rabanne, launched by Spanish designer Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo, known as Paco Rabanne, holds a rich legacy. Known for his use of unconventional materials like metal, paper, and plastic, and a “space-age style,” his futuristic designs gained instant renown with celebrities such as Jane Fonda wearing his looks in the hit science fiction movie Barbarella. While this avant-garde and sensual spirit continues to make it unique in the landscape of fashion, it couldn’t be further from Dossena’s beginnings.
Photo: Courtesy of Rabanne
“I remember coming from a little place in Brittany, France, and fashion was non- existent,” recalls Rabanne’s creative director. “When I was 18, and had studied a bit of art history, I took the decision to go to Belgium and studied fashion.” It was a turning point for him, and at the end of his studies, he competed in the Festival de Hyères, and “won some prizes,” which allowed him to pay for his education, to be noticed, and earn a spot at Balenciaga. “It was the only place I wanted to work at back then – with Nicolas Ghesquière – and I’m grateful for those five years there,” he says of the time where he learned everything from brand building to communication and community. Following that half decade, Dossena went straight to the top creative post at Rabanne. And yet, the feeling of not belonging, rooted in his early days of coming from a non-fashion environment, follows him. “Being confident enough, not being eaten by my doubts, to go on, and make it happen, it’s a life’s work; and at the same time, it’s what fuels me.”
Photo: Courtesy of Rabanne
Now, a new opportunity for Dossena and the fashion house sees Rabanne collaborate with H&M. The offering spans womenswear, menswear, accessories, and home décor. In-stores and on HM.com now, its launch was feted at Paris’s Silencio nightclub in the presence of Cher, Vogue Arabia cover star Amina Muaddi, Salma Abu Deif, Robyn, Peggy Gou, Iris Law, Ashley Graham, and Tina Kunakey, among others. “Rabanne has always been a joyful brand, and this event captured the playful mood of the Rabanne H&M collection. I always want people to feel liberated when they wear our clothes, so it was great to see guests having fun and embracing the collection’s hedonistic spirit,” says Dossena. “It was a great experience. At first, I didn’t know how to make the Rabanne brand accessible on a bigger scale. I’m comfortable with it, but how to do it practically. Especially, knowing that it’s the iconics, the metallic pieces, the people would want. How to give the same quality of handcrafted work – like the chainmail? The H&M team was very on board for this technical challenge.” The versatile collection includes recycled metal for the first time.
Photo: Courtesy of Rabanne
Never one to rest on his laurels, Dossena walks to work every day, to his studio on Avenue Montaigne. Down to earth, he enjoys being in the streets where he gets the most of his inspiration, looking at people, and how they interact with fashion. He prefers creating in a minimally designed space. “It’s good to have a white box to focus on what you are doing, especially when you are looking at clothes, materials, and textures all day long,” he says. “You need to have an empty frame to totally focus.”
Originally published in the December 2023 issue of Vogue Arabia
