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Wedding dress by Paco Rabanne, 1968

Paco Rabanne debuted his first collection, 12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials, in 1966. Those materials, which included Rhodoid (cellulose acetate) discs and metal rings, proved to be more captivating and wearable than previously thought. This dress, accompanied by a matching veil, was meant to be part of a nontraditional bridal ensemble.

Ankle-length, sleeveless, shift-silhouette wedding dress made of white, pearlescent, and silver glitter plastic rectangles attached with metal loops in “chainmail” style.
Ankle-length, sleeveless, shift-silhouette wedding dress made of white, pearlescent, and silver glitter plastic rectangles attached with metal loops in “chainmail” style.
Details

Paco Rabanne

Wedding dress of white, pearlescent, and silver glitter plastic rectangles with metal loops

Circa 1968, France

The Museum at FIT, 81.48.2

Gift of Montgomery Ward

Ankle-length, sleeveless, shift-silhouette wedding dress made of white, pearlescent, and silver glitter plastic rectangles attached with metal loops in “chainmail” style.
Editorial featuring Paco Rabanne wedding dress 
Vogue, June 1966
In 1966, the Russian space probe Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to land on the moon and return images from its surface. The futuristic optimism of the era is captured in Paco Rabanne’s space age wedding dress, which contains glittering plastic and wire, but no fabric.

Ankle-length, sleeveless, shift-silhouette wedding dress made of white, pearlescent, and silver glitter plastic rectangles attached with metal loops in “chainmail” style.
Ankle-length, sleeveless, shift-silhouette wedding dress made of white, pearlescent, and silver glitter plastic rectangles attached with metal loops in “chainmail” style.

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