Protecting What’s Precious at Rabanne
Review of Rabanne Fall 2025 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Precious metals, Medium mash-up, fringed fur
in reaction to the fact that we are no longer living in a gilded age, Julien Dossena chose to keep it all inside for fall 2025. Last season there was a distinct shrouding gesture across his spring collection as embellished mesh covered humble everyday cottons, this time Dossena’s precious metals were given a plastic covering like a sweet wrapper or protective shell contrasting with what lay beneath. It just so happens that shrink wrapping these looks will also provide a built in protector for the brands luxury customer afraid of their metal mesh tarnishing in their wardrobes.
In response to the current global climate designers have chosen to respond by stripping back or returning to serious business (attire), but what if there is an alternative way? To still keep joy-filled design as part of a well-loved wardrobe, and wear those pieces at any time without seeming out of touch. Well, next season Dossena is directing us to look inside, to conceal our most glittery sartorial possessions, not as a way to hide them out of shame, but as a way to instead provide us with a knowing that will make us smile when we think about how, beneath that heavy winter coat, is our most precious Rabanne embellished dress.
A lot of ‘internal work’ and beauty from the inside out has been seen this season. Whether in the form of an exquisitely constructed suit or making the ‘material’ matter more now than ever (especially as murmurings of a drop in quality at the luxury level is reaching fever pitch), the much discussed return to maximalism is being met with a challenger in the form of ‘Thoughtful Decadence’, and this collection was a wake-up call to the shape-shifting possibilities open to brands who chose to shake up brand codes. As mostly absent from the line-up were the signature chainmail dresses and in their place was a methodical look into the rich layering of prints and textures to propose a new visual cue for Rabanne. Can we be saved by finding our humanity within? Quite possibly.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Julien Dossena presented a convincing way to evolve the Rabanne brand embedded in signature house codes – even though more of the classic chainmail was missed, especially as it looked so good ‘shrink-wrapped’ – and the message of taking our most precious possessions and concealing them as a way to spark joy in the silent knowing came through strong for fall 2025.
