Julien Dossena is gone Rabanne after thirteen years, closing an important creative chapter for the Paris company. Rabanne confirmed his departure with a message of gratitude, crediting him with reshaping fashion’s identity for a new generation while maintaining its radical codes.
FASHION
Dossena joined Paco Rabanne in 2013 and took over one of fashion’s most iconic archives. The label built its name on metallic dresses, chain, futuristic constructions and an experimental attitude towards material. Dossena treated these codes as active tools. It updated the language of chainmail, gave shine and surface a modern reading and brought the brand closer to the current fashion conversation.
Rabanne extolled his vision, talent and work for thirteen years. The brand described his tenure as a remarkable chapter and emphasized his role in connecting craftsmanship, culture and modern femininity. His exit now leaves Puig with a significant creative opening at one of fashion’s most visible companies.
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 company’s womenswear. Celebrity dressing has also helped broaden Rabanne’s appeal, 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 fully focusing on Rabanne, he also founded his own record label, Atto. His wider projects during the Rabanne years included a guest couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier in 2023 and Rabanne H&M collaboration.
Rabanne has not named a successor. The brand said it will announce the next creative lead in due course, which leaves room for speculation as to who could helm the next phase. One name has already been floated through industry reports: Olivier Rousteing. Previous reports have linked the former Balmain creative director with a discreet Rabanne project after he leaves Balmain in November 2025, although 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 combined luxury, celebrity culture, body conscious silhouettes and the glamor of high influence. These qualities explain why its name has gained attention around Rabanne, a company with its own history of metal, luster and dramatic surface.
For now, Dossena’s departure remains the confirmed story. Rousteing’s connection to Rabanne remains unconfirmed speculation surrounding a possible collaboration or future role. The next appointment will show how Rabanne plans to follow a thirteen-year period that reshaped fashion’s identity and returned its archival codes to a wider audience.
