ARCHIVES BY RABANNE: The Recomposed Future

What does the Rabanne heritage represent today in terms of collections? 

Rabanne’s Heritage and Archives Department houses a coherent collection documenting the Haute Couture activity of Monsieur Paco Rabanne from around 1964-1965 to 2000, and of the various artistic directors from 1989 to the present day (women's ready-to-wear). The collection comprises nearly 10,000 Haute Couture and women's ready-to-wear pieces, garments and accessories (mainly jewellery, shoes, belts and bags) and almost 20,000 documentary archives (press releases, photographs, collection documents and sketches, audiovisual material, library, ephemera, etc.). 

What have been the major milestones in terms of development since the creation of the House? 

When Monsieur Paco Rabanne was here, it was the Communications and Press Relations department that looked after the items/collections to be archived. Then, when he retired at the dawn of 2000, the items were stored but not really handled. Around 2009-2010, people were hired to draw up the first inventories. It wasn't really until 2017 that a Heritage & Archives department was created... I, myself, have been in post since 2019.

What was Paco Rabanne's vision of heritage? 

Paco Rabanne did not have any specific wishes regarding the preservation of his work or the heritage of his collections. Like Karl Lagerfeld, he didn't want to keep any archives. Moreover, in the mid-1990s, he organised an auction (1994) to dispose of many Haute Couture models and made several donations to French museums (MAD, Galliera, Musée des Tissus, Musée du peigne et de la plasturgie d'Oyonnax...).

How are the collections catalogued, and what do you keep in all the collections produced by the company? 

We distinguish Haute Couture and ready-to-wear pieces. The collections are listed by year, season and run number. All the garments are grouped together, and the accessories are classified according to this typology. The documentation is also classified by Haute Couture and Prêt-à-Porter, then by year. And by document type. 

For the choice of items kept, we focus on Haute Couture and women's Ready-to-Wear. We do not keep any license pieces or secondary lines. For Julien Dossena's current collections, we only keep the pieces that are currently on show (main collections) plus the pre-collections that can be seen on Vogue Runway.

What about the activity linked to loans? Exhibitions in 2024 and 2025?

We regularly lend to museums and cultural institutions for temporary exhibitions. At the moment, we are taking part in the Louvre Couture’ exhibition at the Louvre museum and Fashion and Sport: From One Podium to Another at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. In 2024, we participated in the following exhibitions and events: Pierre Cardin & Paco Rabanne. Couturiers de l'audace (Atelier-musée du Chapeau - Chazelles-sur-Lyon); the Vogue World fashion show in the Place Vendôme and Vestology: The jacket in All Its States at Printemps Haussmann.

What are your major projects for the future?

In 2026, we will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of Maison Rabanne. Stay tuned.

By Laurence Benaïm.