It's haute, haute, haute as Galliano stuns Paris

The autumn/winter haute couture season kicked off in Paris yesterday with what must surely be amongst the most extravagant blockbuster presentations in fashion history, courtesy of the designer John Galliano for Christian Dior.

Inspired by the 60th anniversary of the grandest of French fashion houses, the collection was shown at the Orangerie in Versailles ­ quite a coup even by such rarefied standards. Guests were instructed to dress with " extreme elegance" for the occasion.

The haute couture is the jewel in French fashion's crown. Twice-yearly, no more than around 200 of the world's most privileged women, as well as select buyers and press, travel to Paris to see clothes that are made entirely by hand by hugely-accomplished craftspeople. Many of those working in the ateliers today were trained by the likes of Coco Chanel and Christian Dior himself. An outfit may cost tens of thousands of pounds, it may even be priceless, but it will also be fitted to madam personally ­ and very few models of each look will ever be made.

If this appears anachronistic in its flagrant elitism, the value of the publicity that springs up in the wake of the event is incalculable. More importantly, as Galliano himself has long argued, the couture is the inspiration for the entire brand, from the ready-to-wear down.

Flexing his considerable muscle now more than ever before, the designer flew in the supermodels of yesteryear for the duration. Linda Evangelista, Shalom Harlow, Stella Tennant, Karen Mulder and Helena Christensen all walked the runway lined with mythological creatures and garlands of white roses just as they did at the outset of Galliano's Paris career in the early 1990s and with indomitable authority.

If the point of the couture is to cater to each individual client's needs then John Galliano's inspiration this time round ­ the Dior's own art collection and, specifically, leading ladies from many of art history's most famed old master portraits ­ was apposite. As each of the world's most beautiful women came out in one hugely-elaborate and entirely unique garment after another, referencing Velasquez, Picasso and Goya one minute and Michelangelo, Botticelli and Caravaggio the next, that message rang out loud and clear.

In the end, this was a presentation steeped in the past in more ways than one. As a showcase for what many consider the world's most elevated craft form it was also just as audacious as might be expected for this particular designer, and technically second to none.

The term haute couture is regulated by the French government and only approved fashion houses may use it.