Rabanne Spring-Summer 2025 Opus with Gigi Hadid: The Alchemy of the Everyday

As the lights dimmed and the first model stepped onto the runway at Paris Fashion Week, the air crackled with anticipation. What followed was a compelling display of transformative design that traversed boundaries between the mundane and the magnificent.

Julien Dossena, Rabanne's visionary artistic director, has long been known for his ability to transmute the ordinary into the extraordinary. But with the Spring-Summer 2025 collection, he has continued the legacy of the House by way of resplendent and imaginative design.

The opening looks saw short, layered ensembles that challenges the very notion of Rabanne’s range. Heavily layered underpinnings beneath a voluminous blazer brought together so tight, it might as well have been a single piece.

As model after model strode past, a delicate dance of contrasts unfolded. The color palette—a confection of mint, rose, lilac, and baby blue—could have been plucked from a patisserie window. Yet there was nothing saccharine about these looks. Instead, they walked a tightrope between the clinical and the romantic, never fully committing to either side.

Perhaps most intriguing was Dossena's reclamation of prep school staples. Gone are the days when preppy dress codes signaled membership of an elite sporting club. Here, they’ve been transformed into protection not from the elements, but from the mundanity of everyday life. Dress shirts and striped boxer shorts, once the uniform of boardrooms and bedrooms respectively, found new purpose as buckled utility skirts and poplin tops with unexpected back openings. It was as if Dossena had raided the lost and found of a posh boarding school with a pair of shears and a sewing kit.

As the show progressed, a metamorphosis occurred. Structured silhouettes gave way to fluid forms, like butterflies emerging from their chrysalises. Lingerie-inspired pieces whispered across skin, while apron dresses suggested a domestic goddess gone rogue. The culmination of this evolution was nothing short of breathtaking—geometric panels, painstakingly embroidered, set between delicate chains and diaphanous mousseline. These were garments that defied categorization, existing in a liminal space between breezy street style and red carpet. Rabanne has always held a penchant for futuristic design; an avant-garde edge that shines bright this season as foiled guipure lace shimmered under the harsh runway lights.

"I wanted to explore the relativity of radicality," Dossena shared backstage, his eyes alight with the fervor of an alchemist. "What's mundane to one person is extraordinary to another. Fashion should challenge those perceptions."

And challenge he did. Even the humble stripe—a pattern so ubiquitous it's practically a neutral—was reborn. Here, stripes cavorted with fine sheaths of tulle adorned with floating embroideries, creating a visual rhythm that was at once familiar and utterly foreign.

The footwear alone deserved its own dissertation. Flat leather boots, with their curved leg construction and scrunched styling, grounded the collection in a semblance of practicality. But it was the pumps, encased in clear galoshes, that truly captured the collection's ethos. Here was footwear for a world where the lines between indoor and outdoor, practical and whimsical, have been gleefully smudged.

As the final looks swept past, the audience was treated to a stunning display of Rabanne's artisanal prowess and historical legacy. The highlight was undoubtedly what Rabanne has dubbed "the most expensive bag in the world" - a modern interpretation of the brand's iconic 1969 design. Crafted in collaboration with French artisan jeweler Arthus Bertrand, this 18-karat gold 1969 Nano bag required 100 hours of meticulous work (Look 22, below). Priced at €250,000 EUR, it's a dazzling homage to Paco Rabanne's 1968 creation for Françoise Hardy - the legendary "most expensive dress" made of 1,000 gold tiles and 300 carats of diamonds.

But the golden masterpiece wasn't alone. Two other extraordinary bags graced the runway, each a testament to Rabanne's heritage of innovative materials. The Handcrafted 1969 Glass Bag (Look 16, below) featured Murano glass pastilles by Venice's Venini glassmaking house, creating a mesmerizing brushstroke marbling effect. Alongside it, the Ceramic Bag showcased discs meticulously crafted by Astier de Villatte. These pieces weren't merely accessories; they were wearable sculptures that bridged Rabanne's revolutionary past with Julien Dossena's contemporary vision.

This triumphant display of craftsmanship comes on the heels of another Rabanne milestone - global sensation Chappell Roan's recent appearance at the MTV VMA Awards in a medieval-themed chainmail dress, further cementing the brand's enduring influence in high fashion.

In the end, what Dossena has created is more than just a collection—it's a proposition. A dare to look at the world around us with new eyes, to find the extraordinary in the everyday. Rabanne's Spring-Summer 2025 collection ultimately is a reminder that luxury isn't about price tags or brand names. It's about perspective. And if Dossena has his way, we'll all be seeing the world through rose-gold tinted glasses come next spring.