Paco Rabanne, French-Spanish fashion designer, dies at 88

Paco Rabanne, famous for his eccentric designs in the world of fashion, has died aged 88.

His death was confirmed by the parent company of his brands, Puig, which credited him for marking generations “with his radical vision of fashion, and his legacy will live on."

Puig's fashion president, José Manuel Albesa, also hailed Paco’s work and said: "Who else could induce fashionable Parisian women to clamour for dresses made of plastic and metal. That radical, rebellious spirit set him apart: There is only one Rabanne."

Rabanne was born to a military father and a seamstress mother in Spain’s Basque region. They moved to Paris in 1939 after the Nationalist forces seized Madrid and won the war.

He stepped into the world of fashion after beginning as an architecture student at l'École Nationale des Beaux-Arts, later going on to launch his own eponymous fashion house in 1966.

In a statement on Paco Rabanne's official Instagram, the brand hailed him as a "visionary" and said he was "among the most seminal fashion figures of the 20th Century."

"His legacy will remain a constant source of inspiration," it added.