New designer breaks with tradition at Paco Rabanne

PARIS - Taking over a storied fashion house is a daunting task for any designer, and even more so if the founder of the label is still lurking in the wings.

American Patrick Robinson signalled a dramatic change of direction on Saturday in his debut collection for Paco Rabanne, opting to ignore the archives of the Spanish designer famous for inventing futuristic plastic and metal dresses in the 1960s.

Instead, he presented slinky cocktail dresses in layers of pastel satin or in black chiffon edged with lingerie-style lace. Robinson, formerly at Perry Ellis, stuck to a muted palette of blush pink, aubergine and ink black.

A crystal trim on a black satin vest and a couple of lurex bomber jackets were all that remained of the metallic textures so beloved of Rabanne, who quit his consulting role for the house only last October.

Robinson was unapologetic.

"He did dresses made just of metal, and what that meant to me was that he was trying to be provocative," he told reporters backstage after the show. "I think that's where the essence of the house is, less than holding on to a material. "

The designer said his creations were aimed at women who want to hog the limelight, though the subtle outfits he showed may not fulfil this ambition. In any case, Robinson is not afraid of alienating traditional customers.

"If a real Rabanne customer wants to move forward, they move forward with the house, and the house has to move forward to survive. There's no other house that can do something for 40 years and never change and be relevant today. "

Vincent Darre had also promised renewal at Emanuel Ungaro, but instead he got mired in the past, presenting a clunky collection earlier this week that drew mixed reviews.

The little-known French designer sent out sculpted coats in dramatic volumes that recalled the work of Spanish couturier Cristobal Balenciaga, in whose atelier Ungaro learned the ropes.

He then tapped the early archives of the Ungaro label, founded in 1965, to resurrect graphic prints in primary colours. It was designed to symbolise the passing of the baton between generations, but that transition is proving turbulent.

Ungaro has already lost his chosen successor, Giambattista Valli, who left last season to set up his own business after reportedly clashing with his mentor.

Darre's literal take on history produced drooping satin gowns in screaming shades of orange and yellow that had little relation to the artful draping that is a trademark of the house.

"As his clownish models lined up, in dusty old-school fashion, across the back of a set evoking Ungaro's Avenue Montaigne flagship, the audience's stupefaction was palpable, " Vogue editor-at-large Hamish Bowles wrote on Style.com.

- REUTERS