Celine gets carried away wholly gentle clothes

Phoebe Philo shows a new take on the laundry bag in her Céline collection (AP)

The mood book left on seats for the Céline autumn/winter catwalk show was printed with ethereal images of marble statues, clouds and woollen yarn – all in a neutral, bleached-out tone.

What followed was a display of wholly gentle clothes, in soft woollen fabrics which seemed almost to cuddle the body.

Grey wool garments cleverly had inbuilt sleeves which folded and tied in front of the body – literally hugging the wearer – with cosiness further demonstrated by oversized tufted wool coats in pale shades, worn over sleek rollneck jumpers and pencil skirts.

Designer Phoebe Philo, who has turned around the fortunes of the French house, elevated the mundane to the sublime, as seen here too with a luxe reinvention of laundry-bag fabrics.