Paco Rabanne, born in February 1934 under the name Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo, has his roots in both Spain -- his birthplace -- and France, where his mother led him at the start of the Spanish Civil War. Starting his education out in the field of architecture, he moved his desires to the arena of French Fashion during the 60s. He began by designing the jewelry pieces sold by the Houses of Balenciaga, Dior and Givenchy. This gave way to his opening his own house of fashion by 1966. For his outlandish and unorthodox designs in jewelry, Paco Rabanne chose such items as plastic, paper and metal to give his pieces their flamboyancy. He became equally well known in the movie industry by designing costumes for several movies, including Barbarella.
In addition to having Francoise Hardy as an adoring fan, the French singer Mylene Farmer used the Franco-Spanish designer to liven up her concerts wherever she performed.
Paco Rabanne gained an interest in the paranormal, and because of his prediction that the Russian space station Mir would come spiraling down to Earth, crashing in a flaming ball on top of Paris back in 1999, a prediction that obviously never came to pass, Rabanne also gained notoriety for that interest. This led to his nickname in the media of "Pacolypse." It was not an endearing moniker for the fashion designer.
It was in 2005 that Paco Rabanne was able to exhibit his drawings for the first time, in Moscow, Russia. 72 at the time, he wanted to show the world his artistic talent in another medium before he passed away. Only the legendary Salvador Dali had been privileged enough to view Rabanne's artwork. This was thirty years previously, and the painter had only praise for his talent, encouraging Rabanne to continue to draw. There is a particular drawing in the exhibit, that of a young child releasing both a dove and a white balloon into the air, which had been inspired by the events honoring 319 murdered hostages in an attack in Beslan. Among the dead were more than 180 children, a dozen soldiers and 31 of the instigators of the hostage crisis. Paco Rabanne requested the money be donated to the women survivors of the Beslan tragedy.
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