Marc Jacobs was smiling, suntanned and wearing three-quarter length flared trousers as he greeted his public.

His inspiration for the Louis Vuitton collection was muses such as Victoire de Castellane, Marie Seznec, Loulou de la Falaise and Inès de la Fressange who have influenced the biggest French couture fashion houses such as Dior, Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel.

The collection was flamboyant, consisting of short, puffball skirts, transparent blouses which revealed brightly coloured bras, voluminous jackets with dropped shoulders, tops with leg-of-lamb sleeves and ruffled collars.

To perfect their looks, the modern day heroines wore lace-up thigh-boots or vertiginously high heels, styled with chignons on the tops of their heads like playboy bunnies.