Vionnet - Airy Elegance

An enchanted evening - with precise drapes in soft and slithering fabrics. That was the message from Vionnet at designer Hussein Chalayan's second 'demi-couture' collection.

And it was not just the airy elegance of graceful shapes that produced a fresh look. There was also a palette of red colours, from coral through to scarlet, to add richness to the autumn season.

Hussein had previously worked a complex grid, using it as a pattern. This time he showed his geometric skills with cut out circles on backs and insertions of pleats with a ruching effect. Soft fabrics were pleated, twisted and knotted into a tail, suggesting the skills of another fashion treasure: Fortuny.

Most dramatic was material worked into the shape of a crocodile tail. But these were not tricks - just couture effects, which might help Vionnet connect to a client base of sophisticated women who want to look contemporary, but elegant.

Next season it would be good to see the designer give his tailoring skills a workout. But for fashionable fluidity, this was a fine show.