Nina Ricci Spring/Summer 2018 Ready-To-Wear Collection...Fashionweekly..On Fow24news.com

THE MESSAGE:"The Nina Ricci legionnaire is relaxed - her allure is natural and self-assured," promised the show notes.....

THE ATMOSPHERE:A big top erected outside Hôtel National Des Invalides served as the location, with green slatted folding chairs and gravel underfoot. Beethoven's 'Symphony No 7' boomed through the speakers and set the tone for a collection variously inspired by the French foreign legion, imperial India and Don Quixote - there were feather-adorned kepi hats, there were tasselled epaulettes, there were feather boas - with all the pomp of a military procession. At the finale, models assembled on the steps of Des Invalides in their Sobranie cigarette colours as audience members jumped from their seats to capture it on camera.

THE COLLECTION:Logos have sneaked their way into virtually every collection in Paris as fashion houses seek to capitalise on their legacy in an uncertain economic market. Nina Ricci's "NR" might not have instant impact, but that didn't stop Guillaume Henry from stamping it on black patent loafers, waist-cinching belts and heavy fabrics inspired by luggage linings. Elsewhere, he explored military references in pocket-strewn safari jackets and trench coats (worn with little lace cycling shorts - a surprise hit this week in Paris, with Saint Laurent, Chloe and Off-White all showing go-faster iterations), cropped jackets with fancy tasselled epaulettes, and other slightly odd versions with peaked shoulders. Then came the show-stopping numbers in various shades of sunshine, and bedecked in feathers (another trend that is big for spring). More serious daywear options were in slightly shorter supply. Queen Letizia of Spain is a Ricci stalwart, for example, finding Henry's fluid dresses just the thing for her numerous official engagements, but presumably there'll be some adaptations ahead of commercial sale. And with this much going on - feathers, tassels, beautiful shoulder-shrouding capes - the audience hardly noticed.

THE SYNOPSIS:Exuberant partywear for women allergic to the "tight and bright" evening dress code that pervades elsewhere in Paris. And the return of the feather boa!