AFP

She’s back after eight years. The French designer Fred Sathal was fashionably late for her return to Paris’ haute couture scene.

Her “colour light” show launched the Autumn/Winter 2014-15 collections, and it was a sparkling success despite a 50-minute delay.

Sathal used beading and embellishments to create a swishing, shimmering effect, especially on mini-dresses with heavily-fringed hems.

A recurring fabric used in trousers, coats and kaftan dresses was also inspired by an artist’s paint palette. Sathal did not shy away from fur with one supremely over-the-top cape made entirely from fox tails.