Paco Rabanne death updates — Invictus cologne designer dies at 88 as tributes pour in for star

Marc Puig pays tribute

Marc Puig, Chairman and CEO of parent company Puig, has paid tribute to Paco Rabanne in a statement.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Paco Rabanne,” Puig said.

“The history of Puig and Paco Rabanne began in the late 1960s with the launch of Calandre, the perfume created soon after the designer released ‘12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials.’

“A major personality in fashion, his was a daring, revolutionary and provocative vision, conveyed through a unique aesthetic.

“He will remain an important source of inspiration for the Puig fashion and fragrance teams, who continuously work together to express Mr. Paco Rabanne’s radically modern codes.

“I extend my sincere condolences to his family and to those who have known him.”

Paco Rabanne’s final years

Rabanne retired from the fashion and fragrance industries in 1999.

He has spent most of his time away from the public eye since, with a 2004 book as the major exception.

“To say that Paco Rabanne marches to his own drummer is an understatement,” The New York Times wrote in a feature in 2002.

“He’s been called a futurist, couturier, mystic, madman, Dadaist, sculptor, architect, astrologer, perfumer, artist and prophet.”

Tribute from Julien Dossena

Julien Dossena has been the active creative designer for the Paco Rabanne brand since 2013.

“Thank you Mr. Rabanne, thank you for having been a couturier who defined a new modernity, who accompanied a cultural revolution,” Dossena said in a statement.

“A total artist who, through the expression of his personal utopia, has contributed to changing the vision of the world. Thank you for this legacy.”

Business launch in 1966

After working with legendary designers Balenciaga, Givenchy and Dior, Rabanne embarked on his own fashion empire.

He launched his own fashion house in 1966, using materials he had grown familiar with in his architectural studies.

Rabanne’s collections were lauded around the world, except for Brazil.

The country would eventually revoke his business in 1980.

Relationship with his mother

Rabanne followed in the footsteps of his mother.

She was the head seamstress for Balenciaga.

He said he was deeply inspired by her, claiming that she was once imprisoned for wearing clothes that police deemed “too scandalous.”

Rabanne would also work for Balenciaga when they moved to France together.

First collection

In his first collection launch, named “2 unwearable dresses in contemporary materials,” Rabanne traversed into a space in fashion that seemed fresh and new.

Using unconventional materials like metal and sequins, Rabanne ditched threading for welding.

“My colleagues tell me I am not a couturier, but an artisan and it’s true that I’m an artisan. … I work with my hands,” he said in 1970.