The Deputy Mayor’s Office of Trintxerpe; one of the four districts that make up Pasaia (Pasajes) and also the birthplace of Paco Rabanne, 1934, hosted the official presentation of Fundación Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo, created to highlight the transcendence of the designer’s work in the fashion world and to consolidate his position as one of the great references in 20th century design.
During the event, the details of the program “Unveiling Rabanne” was also revealed, being one of the Foundation’s first initiatives to be developed in five objectives: to concede the designer the distinction of Pasaia’s Favorite Son, to publish a book and produce a documentary about his life, to organise a global exhibition with his work and to create the Paco Rabanne Space for Culture and Innovation in Trintxerpe.
The first objective has already been achieved thanks to Trintxerpe Town Council and the second is underway with “El Cuervo en su Jaula“, a book edited by Enrique Santiago, Emilio Gil, Virginia Rodríguez and Eva Góngora that delves into Rabanne’s biography and of which the event’s attendees received the first chapter in print. The third is also a reality: “Paco Rabanne, a Life Beyond the Pattern“, a documentary that will be premiered on RTVE’s “Imprescindibles” programme after its screening at the main film festivals. The attending guests enjoyed the privilege of a private screening.
The future retrospective exhibition’s general lines were also outlined at the presentation. Titled “Paco Rabanne and the Fine Arts“, it will be a key piece of the aforementioned Rabanne Space, the program’s star objective. “We are working constantly and appealing to the different Basque public institutions as well as the Government of Spain in order to obtain the necessary support. Paco imagined a space that would radiate thought, creativity and social innovation, proposing integrated solutions for the agents in the textile and design sector’s needs, contributing to the development of first-rate technologies that respond to the expectations of this highly relevant market, which is in continuous evolution, and hosting training experiences for fashion professionals, integrated intimately into the sociocultural life of their environment. To give and to receive. Give the community a program of activities and nurture ourselves with popular culture. Today we are already climbing a step of this long ladder,” states Juanje Neira, president of the Foundation.
The event brought together prominent personalities from politics and fashion. Among them, representatives of all the political groups that make up Pasaia City Council, led by Mayor Teo Alberro, the subdelegate of the Government in Guipúzcoa, Noemi López and Goizane Álvarez, Deputy for Culture of Guipúzcoa, as well as Sergio Álvarez, director of the Fundación Academia de la Moda Española (FAME), and Carmen Torres, general secretary of Moda España Confederation.
Also present were Modesto Lomba and Pepa Bueno, president and executive director of the Asociación de Creadores de Moda de España (ACME), an institution that has collaborated in the creation of the Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo Foundation since its inception. At a central moment of the event, Lomba and Bueno presented the delicate sculptural piece of jewellery in the form of a silver bracelet that Canarian designer Helena Rohner created for Paco Rabanne when he became an Honorary Associate of ACME, a title that he was unable to collect personally. In a letter sent in 2019, the designer expressed his gratitude for this distinction and stressed the collaboration between ACME and the Foundation. After his demise in February 2023, the Association awarded him the “In Memoriam” recognition, which he shares with other great fashion figures.
The Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo Foundation marks an important step in preserving the legacy of Paco Rabanne, who changed fashion’s history and whose influence is still alive today. The Foundation is emerging as a reference for future generations of creators with the commitment of keeping alive the innovative spirit that defined his work, and his life.
