Julien Dossena and Paco Rabanne are a match made in heaven. The spring-summer 2019 collection is, simply speaking, superb. And, what’s most surprising for a designer who works at such historically distinct brand like Paco Rabanne, the collection wasn’t a literal archive revisit. Dossena focused mainly on Rabanne’s signature chain-mail, but refreshed it completely, so it looked incredibly light and perfect for summer. Similar to Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s Chloé this season, Julien also went for the nomadic theme. Just like her, he didn’t deliver anything overly direct or vague. No boho trends here. Rather think coin necklaces and belts, embellished bras worn under chain-mail dresses and refined sarongs. All that worn in a carefree, not too over-styled manner (Marie Amelie Sauve, love you). It’s bohème, but finally done the good way in 2018. The question is: was Julien travelling somewhere far this summer? The answer is: nope. “I didn’t really get enough time away,” he said, “so I thought more about inner travel—in the mind. About a wardrobe of someone’s souvenirs mixed with her own classics.” Spiritual, diverse, but resonating with a contemporary wearer. The last is something Paco always intended to highlight in his collections.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.