“Dress in aluminium discs” Paco Rabanne 1966

Paco Rabanne born in Spain was recognized in 1971 as a couturier and retired 30 years later in 1999. He liked to experiment with strange and different recycled materials to stand out, adapting them for his own use. Some examples are hammered metal, knitted fur, aluminum jersey, dresses made from paper or fluorescent leather or fiber glass. He is one of the most unique and innovative designers.

This dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Two For Road in 1967 was featured in the Maserati and Paco Rabanne Exhibition Hosted in Paris.

It is the transforming of different materials used in new and fresh designs that made this dress.

In this design we can see Harmonious structures throughout the dress. The square/rectangle aluminium discs are linked by chains making the dress whole. The pattern of the dress is not the same throughout. Starting from the top, the aluminium discs are getting bigger. We also see some aluminium circles on certain discs which are all following the structure of a diagonal line.

Although as a whole it is a very harmonious design , when comparing it to normal pieces of clothing made out of fabric it is very conflicting as it does not meet up to the function of clothes such as comfort as it is very stiff.

This design by Manish Arora is an interpretation of the original piece by Paco Rabanne. This one is longer and the fit is very different because in this design the discs aren't all the same shape following the same pattern, in this design they are all different shapes as to fit the body structure nicely. This design is organic compared to the original piece by Paco Rabanne which is geometric.

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