Paris Models

Christmas came to mind as the first model stepped onto the runway in Paris, sparkling in silver. Collette Dinnigan's 10th anniversary show yesterday shimmered like a string of festive baubles.In colours she described as moonstone, musk and espresso, Dinnigan mixed her trademark tulle, chiffon and lace dresses with sharper cream or silver shorts and a frayed-edge short silver jacket.To add to the Christmas feel, the pieces were wrapped with frayed ribbons, while long satin dresses, bound for the red carpet, were also banded with ribbon detail.

It looked like Havana meets Shanghai, an incongruous mixture in a show that nonetheless showed confidence and coherence.Hermès's setting was the Left Bank heart of Paris's artistic life, the école nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, where statues of deep thinkers stared down at fashionistas teetering on their heels and knee-high boots across the cobblestoned entrance

Reminders of Hermès's history as a saddlery were evident in Saturday's parade.In the orange leather handbags, the letter H was woven into the lace of the parasols and the slender leather belts, pulling together soft drapes and fine pleating.The silhouette of slender trousers, crisp shirtwaist dresses and side-buttoned tunic dresses was slinky, unlike the full-blown shapes at the Chloé show, which has kept embroiderers busy with intricate curlicue appliqués on crepe de chine and silk organza.In the airless black marquee, the audience fanned their reddening faces with their invitations while the models looked as cool as gelato.The Australian supermodel Gemma Ward looked sensational in a cream silk organza skirt