Was Carla Bruni in the audience? Where was the usual, elaborate stage set? And what was John Galliano, maestro of theatrics, going to come up with this season?

As it happened Ms Bruni didn’t make it to the Dior show that started Paris fashion week yesterday afternoon. The French may have taken to calling their President Monsieur Bling-Bling but endless paparazzi footage has yet to convince us the “first lady” is partial to a crocodile skin skirt trimmed with fur, at least not in public.

As for Galliano, instead of plundering the history books and referencing couture-inspired, Forties and Fifties silhouettes, the show proved to be a serious play for the emerging markets.

There might be nothing new in tapping into the financial might of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) but one fashion editor summed up the obvious, ostentatious luxury that sauntered down the catwalk as “luxury for beginners”. As everyone knows, Dior is not a house that is known for its stealth-wealth approach: why add a smattering of rhinestones to a jacket when you could add a bucketload? More importantly there is always a Dior client who is going to buy this stuff. Despite the weakness of the US dollar and endless doom’n’gloom predictions, sales for this house are on the up, with interest in the Far East and expansion plans in India.

If you listen to all the media hype that China will soon account for up to a third of luxury goods sold around the world while demand in Russia is estimated to have increased by 60 per cent, then perhaps Dior is laughing all the way to the cash till.

In the market for a white astrakhan cape? No problem. How about some pony skin overlaid with gold graphics or soft, ostrich, snake and exotic skins? Sure can do. There were no tricky, hard-to-get-your-head- around-the-concept shapes at Galliano’s show; what we got were wearable, straightforward clothes. From the big Valley of the Dolls hairstyles to the Sixties lines comprising collarless jackets, flattering three-quarter length sleeves and pencil skirts. And all retouched with an Eighties exuberance not only evident from the strong magenta, turquoise, lime and lemon shades they appeared in but also from the sparkle embellishment. The bold colours, which are symbolic of wealth, are better suited to Oriental or Asian skin tones.

Last week in Milan the very idea of “limousine” shoes— ones you can wear only if you have a driver at your disposal — was rubbished by the president of one luxury accessories label as not a realistic take on modern life, but on this catwalk there was no shortage of platform heels, so heavily encrusted and vertiginous that even seasoned models hobbled along as best they could.

Of course, Galliano couldn’t quite let lie his little idiosyncratic touches. There were hats; stetsons, fedoras and trilbies and heavily accentuated eye make-up, which gave the models the glazed look of Stepford wives. At times this collection felt disjointed and lacking in his usual, irreverent wit and creative flair. Even Galliano’s eagerly awaited curtain bow was a low-key affair. Perhaps there is no space now for frippery and, if the house of Dior wants to be taken seriously in its attempt to court new markets, to judge by Milan last week, competition is going to be tough.

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