Julien Dossena is leaving Rabanne, where he enjoyed an eventful 13-year tenure as creative director, the Paris-based fashion house announced on Wednesday.
It added that his successor “will be announced in due time.”
It is understood Rabanne has already put out feelers to several potential successors, including Olivier Rousteing, who last November wound up 14 years at the creative helm of Balmain — and made a surprise return to the fashion spotlight by dressing Beyoncé in a sparkly, skull-inspired gown for Met Gala last month.
In a brief statement shared with WWD, Puig-owned Rabanne said Dossena “played a defining role in shaping a new era for Rabanne. With a distinctive creative vision rooted in cultural relevance, he has reinterpreted the brand’s heritage for a new generation, blending its iconic codes with a contemporary, forward-looking spirit.”
Under his direction, “Rabanne has experienced significant growth and renewed global visibility,” it added.
Ana Trias, president of Prestige & Fashion Brands at Puig, said the French designer “profoundly shaped a new era for Rabanne, bringing renewed energy and modernity to its avant-garde heritage through a singular and globally resonant vision.”
For his part, Dossena thanked “the Puig family and group for their trust and for supporting my vision over 13 years. I’m equally grateful to my teams, ateliers and collaborators, whose craft and commitment made the work possible. This defining creative chapter at the helm of Rabanne will always have a significant resonance to me, both professionally and personally.”
Dossena’s last effort was an eveningwear capsule and resort collection unveiled to press earlier this month.
His next move could not immediately be learned.
Rabanne Resort 2027 Collection
Courtesy of Rabanne
A graduate of La Cambre in Brussels, Dossena won the 1.2.3 prize at the International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères in 2006. From 2008 to 2012, he was a senior designer in the Balenciaga studio, working closely with its then-creative director Nicolas Ghesquière.
Dossena joined Paco Rabanne in early 2013 under its then-creative director Lydia Maurer, and in parallel launched his own label, Atto, which he put on hold to concentrate on Paco Rabanne when he was promoted to creative director later that year.
Then only 30, the designer instantly won kudos from the fashion press, fond of his meticulous yet zesty designs with a futuristic sheen.
Late Spanish designer Paco Rabanne famously launched his Space Age house in 1966 with a collection titled “12 Experimental and Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials.”
Puig acquired Paco Rabanne in 1987, and relaunched fashion there in 2011 after a four-year pause, initially signing on Indian designer Manish Arora. Before that, Patrick Robinson, Christophe Decarnin and Rosemary Rodriguez had worked in its ready-to-wear studio over the years.
Puig shortened the brand name to Rabanne in 2023 as part of a feminization and elevation drive, and to unify its fashion and fragrance activities, the latter being the engine of the house thanks to hit scents like 1 Million, Invictus, Black XS and Phantom.
Among the key codes of the brand that now appear across fashion, accessories and beauty products are metal mesh, silver and gold in combination, square chain links, and round and hole-punched metallic discs.
At Rabanne, Dossena reliably turned out both the silver chain-mail party gear pioneered by the founder, and daywear grounded in equal parts workwear and flea market treasures. His celebrity fans include Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus.
Dossena’s departure represents another spin of fashion’s revolving door, which has seen more than a dozen new creative leaders arrive at a host of European fashion houses in the past year or so.
