McCartney shines in homage to City of Light

STELLA McCartney is a quintessentially British designer, but yesterday she paid homage to her adoptive Paris with tailored coats and feminine corsets inspired by the great tradition of French haute couture.

London scenesters including Marianne Faithfull, Kate Moss and her boyfriend Jefferson Hack, gathered at an Art Deco pavilion opposite the Eiffel Tower for the display on the fifth day of the Paris autumn-winter ready-to-wear collections. If the front row represented Cool Britannia, the clothes were inspired by the City of Light.

A wine-coloured wool belted trenchcoat with batwing sleeves flared out into deep folds that recalled the New Look launched by Christian Dior after World War Two, when the end of rationing meant designers could once more use reams of fabric.