Julien Dossena has left Rabanne after thirteen years, closing a major creative chapter for the Paris label. Rabanne confirmed his departure with a message of gratitude, crediting him with reshaping its fashion identity for a new generation while keeping its radical codes in view.
FASHION
Dossena joined Paco Rabanne in 2013 and took on one of fashion’s most distinctive archives. The label built its name on metal dresses, chainmail, futuristic construction and an experimental attitude toward material. Dossena treated those codes as active tools. He updated the chainmail language, gave shine and surface a contemporary reading, and brought the brand closer to the current fashion conversation.
Rabanne praised his vision, talent and work over thirteen years. The brand described his tenure as a remarkable chapter and pointed to his role in linking craftsmanship, culture and modern femininity. His exit now leaves Puig with a major creative opening at one of its most visible fashion labels.
During his time at Rabanne, Dossena gave the label a stronger presence on the Paris Fashion Week calendar. His collections often worked between sensuality, construction and futuristic surface. Metal, mesh, discs and reflective textures returned in new ways, while his silhouettes brought a sharper and more fluid energy to the label’s womenswear. Celebrity dressing also helped broaden Rabanne’s reach, with Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Michelle Obama, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Suki Waterhouse and Emily Ratajkowski wearing Dossena’s designs.
Dossena arrived at Rabanne after working under Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga. He studied at La Cambre in Brussels and received early recognition through the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography. Before focusing fully on Rabanne, he also founded his own label, Atto. His wider projects during his Rabanne years included a guest couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier in 2023 and the Rabanne H&M collaboration.
Rabanne has not named a successor. The brand said it will announce the next creative lead in due time, which leaves room for speculation around who could guide the next phase. One name has already circulated through industry reports: Olivier Rousteing. Earlier reports linked the former Balmain creative director to a discreet Rabanne project after his Balmain exit in November 2025, though no official appointment has followed.
Rousteing led Balmain for fourteen years as creative director and built one of the most recognizable profiles in recent Paris fashion. His work connected luxury, celebrity culture, body conscious silhouettes and high impact glamour. Those qualities explain why his name has gained attention around Rabanne, a label with its own history of metal, shine and dramatic surface.
For now, Dossena’s departure remains the confirmed story. Rousteing’s connection to Rabanne remains unconfirmed speculation around a possible collaboration or future role. The next appointment will show how Rabanne plans to follow a thirteen year period that reshaped its fashion identity and returned its archival codes to a wider audience.
