PARIS — With the Cannes Film Festival in full swing, Paco Rabanne is celebrating summer with the launch of a capsule collection with Net-a-porter inspired by the French Riviera.
The line, which launches on Friday, consists of 21 items of ready-to-wear and seven accessories spanning from day to evening, with looks ranging from nautical knitwear and white jeans to a white stretch lace dress and a beaded crochet top and pants.
Nadia Dhouib, general manager of Rabanne, said it was the brand’s first tie-up with Net-a-porter since 2020. In recent years, the house, which is owned by Spanish beauty and fashion group Puig, has grown rapidly and introduced a new brand identity, and the limited-edition collection reflects its expanded offering.
“We’re no longer a brand just for occasion wear. We have developed a wardrobe for every moment of the day,” Dhouib told WWD.
Prices range from 290 euros for a gathered T-shirt with a piercing detail at the waistline, one of the brand’s staples, to 5,500 euros for a hand-embellished crochet evening tunic. A raffia bag with navy stripes, bearing the Rabanne logo, costs 650 euros, while a silver crochet beanie is priced at 590 euros.
Creative director Julien Dossena and his team were inspired by images of style icons Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg partying in Cannes in the early 1970s. The collection includes a reedition of the Rabanne chainmail minidress that Birkin wore to go clubbing barefoot. Rendered in silver with gold trim, it retails for 3,690 euros.
“We were really inspired by Jane’s look, her beauty, but also her irreverence, which is very Rabanne,” Dhouib said. “She developed a language and a signature wardrobe.”
The executive said that despite the challenges faced by online retail, Rabanne remains committed to the channel. Net-a-porter was Rabanne’s first wholesale partner and Dhouib praised its president Alison Loehnis for her curation of the site.
“For me, it’s a reference, so I think it’s even more important at a time like this to reaffirm our commitment to long-term and strategic partners such as Net-a-porter,” Dhouib said.
The line will be launched at an event for influencers and key customers next week on the Greek island of Kea. It’s a long way from the Cannes red carpet, but Rabanne is banking that the line will travel. “The spirit of Cannes and the French Riviera is pretty universal,” Dhouib said. “It’s captured by this capsule collection, without having to be literally on the festival steps.”
