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THIS MONTH:
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Hollywood A List Parties
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UNCHAIN MY HEART
by Timothy Hagy
In what might have been a metaphor for the state of Paco Rabanne's fashion house, the straps supporting a model's heavy metallic dress gave way - the ensuing meltdown revealing far more of her person than legally permitted. The model made a hasty exit backstage, but Rosemary Rodrigues, the label's current designer, seems to be caught in a corner from which there is no escape.
Now in her seventh season, and still being gingerly coaxed out into the limelight by a portly Paco Rabanne, the timid designer can't seem to completely free herself from his weighty signature metallic suits.
This season, the versions ranged from a macramé of hearts, to bathing suits that resembled a combination of corset - chastity
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belts, to glittering contraptions that looked like they belonged to the 60s TV series Lost in Space robot.
Yet, beneath it all, there was pure artistry at work. With a nod toward Courrèges, bracelets and trenches were affixed with plastic bubbles and geometric designs. Aluminum was crushed and reconstructed into a variety of ingenious creations.
Take, for an example, an electric-blue dress wrapped with leather strips and layered in sterling medallions, or the glittering aluminum blouses worn with creamy jackets traced with the number 7, and you
see her personal touch shining through.
Elsewhere, classic cocktail dresses painted poppy-red and azure were simple, yet so timelessly elegant. Sparkling vests worn
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with draping black satin made for splashy eveningwear.
There is still obviously a large audience for this
epic label, and judging from the first rate staging and presentation of Saturday's show, the profits must be pouring in.
One is left to ponder, nonetheless, what would happen if Rodrigues' creative spirit could sore free.
Click here to see additional photographs
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