‘We’re building a house’: How Rabanne is using art and innovation to level up

Sign up to receive the Vogue Business newsletter for the latest luxury news and insights, plus exclusive membership discounts. Rabanne is on a mission: to evolve from fashion brand to maison, and its newly created Rabanne Arts Factory is a pillar of the Puig-owned brand’s strategy to do so. Launched in December in partnership with Dazed, the programme is geared towards supporting the next generation of digital artists. Today, the Rabanne Arts Factory announces a partnership with Art Basel: six digital artists are in the running to win the opportunity to show at Art Basel Miami in December. The Factory – and prize – are part of Rabanne’s strategy to build out the Rabanne brand beyond its products, says chief brand officer Vincent Thilloy. In a nod to the brand’s future-facing mission, artists were tasked to “visualise new realities”. The six finalists are Buse Simon, Alice Bucknell, Elizabeth O'Brien, Lorenzo Risani, Lucy Ellis and Lola Moniz. “We were keen to have a diversity of expressions,” says creative director Julien Dossena on the final selects. Rabanne has long been entrenched in arts and culture. Thilloy references Centre 57, opened on Boulevard de la Villette in 1983 by founder Paco Rabanne (who passed last year), as a space for musicians to convene, play music and dance. “It was a place created with a lot of generosity,” he says. Centre 57 was a space for up and coming musicians – namely, hip hop artists. “It wasn’t about marketing: it was pure generosity. It was linked to the art, which is also linked to the DNA of the brand.” Last year, the brand riffed on Centre 57 with Club 57, an events series in Paris in partnership with Spotify, celebrating music and fashion. Now, it’s continuing its cultural push – this time in the art world. “It’s to go back to the roots,” Dossena says. “When Paco himself opened the space in the eighties, it was to offer a safe space. We thought it was interesting for us to offer a new opportunity to help new artists in their process – to give them a space and a window to exhibit.” The purpose of the Rabanne Art Factory is twofold: to support emerging artistic talent; and to build out a brand identity and world that spans these different creative spaces, Thilloy says. “We’re building a house,” Thilloy says. “It’s not just about the product. It’s about: What is the purpose of Rabanne?” A younger generation Part of the purpose, Thilloy says, is to cater to the youth: “To galvanise the younger generation to forge a more creative and inclusive world.” The idea started three or four years ago, he says: the Rabanne team wanted to develop something to uplift younger generations. The brand looked to digital art, in part, because of the young demographic creating work in this space. Innovation is also key. “We want to [help] emerge new talents, and new ways of expressing artistic behaviour – the same way that César was using metal to do the sculptures.” (César was one of the artists that told Paco Rabanne he should make metal dresses.) But do young people even still care about digital art? They should, Dossena says. The medium has reached a level of maturity that warrants attention, he says — particularly in a space where AI has dominated the conversation, relative to years prior. “We wanted to know, at that point of maturity, what can be done,” he says, likening it to the evolution of electronic music (in very Rabanne fashion). “I wanted to work with people from the generation who grew up with the possibility – they got a computer before getting a pen into their hands.” The brand also looked to the digital space to speak to the Rabanne consumer across age groups, he says. “I’m sure the young generation – the TikTok generation – will certainly like what we’re going to do.” But, he adds, by partnering with Art Basel, the brand ensures a wider reach than younger-skewed consumers attuned to digital art. “When you exhibit here at Art Basel, there are people like me, not just the Gen Zs, who will discover this new creation.” This parallels Rabanne’s wider rebrand, which began last year when it dropped the ‘Paco’. The goal was to unify the brand under one vision. The Rabanne Arts Factory will continue to evolve to meet younger generations where they’re at. “It will always be young artists, and it will always be linked to sub-culture,” Thilloy says. But it won’t necessarily always be digital art. “We’re starting with digital today because it feels the most avant garde and creative,” he says. “Maybe it will evolve. Let’s see.” Building the house Rabanne may be building out its brand world, but it’s not a house without product. “This is why we are also launching the makeup. We have bags. Maybe soon we’ll have skincare,” Thilloy says. But, he insists, this alone isn’t enough: when consumers buy a product, consumers want more than just that physical good. They want a story. “When you’re building a maison, it’s not just the walls and the roof: it’s the spirit. It needs to be a well designed house, of course, but this is not the most important.” Might digital art play a role in this design? Perhaps, Dossena says. But it’ll be part of the process, not an automation. “It’s definitely an area we are going to explore – but in totally the opposite way to AI. That’s why I insist on the medium aspect of [digital art]: it’s different from the finalisation of the image. It’s good to interrogate the image.” Rabanne wants to communicate this message of innovation internationally, too. It’s why Art Basel was the ideal partner for this project, Thilloy says: the winner will be announced in Miami, but the fair also has a presence in Paris, Hong Kong and Basel, Switzerland (where the six finalists are announced today). It offers the artists a further-reaching platform – and the brand, as well. (When the brand dropped ‘Paco’, part of the rationale was that it was “more international in spirit”.) As for the impact of last month’s IPO on these growth plans? There is none, Thilloy says. Since 1966, the Rabanne brand has had a long-term vision – this remains unchanged, he says. “The objective is to grow, and to build this house.” “It’s interesting to link today and the past: there’s a common vision,” Thilloy says. “It’s expressed differently, for sure – we are not in the sixties anymore. It’s a question of spirit and a way of thinking that is very important.” Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More from this author: From Vuitton to On: Zendaya is On Running’s latest ambassador Women have two types of underwear. Cou Cou wants to bridge the gap Bag charms and brooches are back as luxury’s new entry point

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