Paco Rabanne RTW Spring 2022 Collection

For spring, Julien Dossena whisked his audience off to Monaco — through the screen — sending his 1960s- and ’70s-flavored lineup down a sun-kissed rooftop runway that overlooked the Mediterranean. It was both glamorous and groovy, drawing on Op Art from Victor Vasarely, which added geometric patterns to the elongated silhouettes that shimmered in the bright light.

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Dossena was thinking of the sea and the sun — “that primal sensation and the happiness that you feel,” he remarked during a preview of the collection in a Paris studio. He was also thinking about the era’s sexual tensions, and women’s empowerment.

Toggling between body-covering and skin-baring looks, he piled on the layers — clothing, and accessories. Tunics and dresses were tossed over trousers and harem pants, then came the chunky bracelets, mesh scarves, waistbands covered in oversize eyelets, and chain belts. That is not to say he didn’t offer skimpy, too — an eye-popping pattern of circles in blue, turquoise, and yellow was worked into a short skirt and bra top, a motif that called to mind the stretchy Jean Paul Gaultier dress worn by Kim Kardashian West last year. Contrasting with the circles, Dossena added sandals with lacework that crawled up the leg. Another look was woven together in macramé and embellished with silver beads, Ibiza hippy style.

Topping off the looks were tasseled caps, bucket hats, and scarves, sometimes with fringes covering the face. And he plucked clogs and chunky sandals from the archives, brushing them up for a contemporary audience.

Vasarely’s patterns abounded, applied in all colors and textures — knits, jacquards, jerseys, laser printed, and even drawn out with sequins. Models crisscrossed the vast seaside runway, following the lines of the colorful tiles under their feet — another work from Vasarely, called “Hexa Grace.”

Allover sequin looks were striking. Toying around with optical effects, Dossena covered the bottom of a sequined skirt with extra-large ones; the cropped, sleeveless top carried an image of “La Baiser.”

“Since this is now our main collection, there was a desire to explore graphics as a panoply as ideas,” said Dossena, as quoted in the show notes.

A panoply, yes — richly textured and sensual, modern but with a bohemian streak. As the fashion world swerves to embrace individuality, the glammed-up spirit of this lineup is sure to resonate.

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