Francisco de Rabanne da Cuervo, known to everyone as Paco Rabanne, was born in Spain in 1934. During the civil war, he and his mother left for France, where Paco graduated from the School of Fine Arts and received a diploma in architecture in 1964. His career as a designer began in 1965 when he presented his experimental collection of twelve dresses, including one in plastic.
In the sixties of the twentieth century, Paco Rabanne was in demand as a costume designer for theater, film and ballet. One of his most famous creations of that time was the costume for Jane Fonda in the sci-fi film Barbarella. Although Paco's style was considered strange and outlandish, his design work had a great impact on fashion and pushed its limits. In the seventies, Paco was the first to use black girls as models, which was considered quite outrageous at the time.
However, Paco Rabanne's activities were not limited to fashion design. In 1969, he released his first fragrance called "Calandre". His perfume, like everything else he did, reflectedindividuality and outrageousness of its creator. So, Calandre combined the smell of roses and the taste of metal. In 1973, a new creation by Paco Rabanne appeared - perfume for men Paco Rabanne pour Homme, combining the smell of wood and flowers. They became just a breakthrough in the world of perfumery. Then more and more new flavors began to appear. Now there are more than thirty-six species in total.
In 1989, Paco Rabanne was awarded the Golden Thimble Award at the first International Fashion Festival. He received it for creating designer clothes trimmed with unusual materials such as cotton towels, crepe paper, ostrich feathers, aluminum and others. A year after receiving the award, Paco opened his boutique in Paris. Together with architect Eric Raffi, they designed an interior that combines three themes: metal, light and glass. It was during this period that Paco moved away from the use of metal and plastic in his designs and began to resort to softer artificial fabric materials.
Besides the listed talents, Paco Raban has opened another one to people. He wrote books. In them he described his search for spiritual understanding. The most famous works were "Trajectoire" in 1991 and "Journey: From One Life to Another" in 1997. In his writings, Paco revealed his deepest interests in mysticism, astrology and God.
In 1999, the famous designer decided to retire. Before that, a new Paco Rabanne fragrance, Ultraviolet, was released, which becameliterally a classic of world perfumery. Being on a well-deserved rest, the couturier became interested in another creative activity - painting. Exhibitions of his paintings were also held in Russia. In the last decade, Paco has been actively involved in public life, participating in campaigns to support AIDS patients. He continues to design clothes and sometimes creates outfits for famous people. In 2010, Paco Rabanne received the National Order of the Legion of Honor, which is the highest award in France. However, he still considers Spain to be his homeland. He was repeatedly offered to take French citizenship, but he constantly refused, arguing that he did not want to upset his parents.
