Few names in fashion command as much respect as Paco Rabanne, born Francisco "Paco" Rabaneda Cuervo in 1934.
After beginning his fashion career designing jewellery for prestigious names like Givenchy, Dior, and Balenciaga - and becoming something of an enfant terrible of the French fashion world - Paco started his own fashion house in 1966.
The rest is history, with some of the designer's most famous collectibles being worn by Jane Fonda in the sci-fi movie classic Barbarella, Françoise Hardy and the popular French singer Mylene Farmer.
The man himself has previously commented that he is getting old and will one day be "disappearing from this planet" - which places further onus on collectors to preserve his legacy and works.
And now you'll have a chance to do so yourself in an upcoming auction of Paco Rabbanne's dresses in Paris on January 30.
 An original Paco Rabanne dress estimated to sell for €3,000-4,000 |
Among the sale's highlights is this original Paco Rabanne dress made of pearls and small cubes of wood, some painted. It will appear for sale with an extra long necklace.
The dress's condition report describes it as "not scratched". Despite some "small gaps and accidents" in the dress's design, it is estimated to sell for €3,000-4,000 (approximately $5,063).
Owning a dress designed by one of the 20th century's greatest designers is one thing. But what qualities can you look out for to give your collectible that 'extra edge' in terms of value?
The answer is to buy a rare dress with celebrity provenance. As Paul commented a few weeks ago, the celebrity dress markets have been bringing much success for memorabilia collectors in recent times.
Big celebrity dress auction successes attracted global headlines in 2011's final quarter.
A black velvet cocktail dress owned and worn by the model/actress Dorothy Stratten – we have it for sale here at Paul Fraser Collectibles
These included the sale of Elizabeth Taylor's Christian Dior gown for $362,500 at Christie's New York in December 2011.
Elsewhere, an iconic dress worn by singer Amy Winehouse on the front cover of her Back to Black LP brought four times its presale estimate, selling for $67,208 in London in November.
Expect to see similar successes in the celebrity dress markets in 2012 - and take a look at our rare genuine Dorothy Stratten dress for sale (pictured above) to see how you can get involved in these markets.
