Springtime comes early to Dior's Paris

Even though there was snow on the ground in Paris yesterday, fashion was in full bloom.

For his second Dior couture collection, shown in the Tuilerie Gardens, designer Raf Simons was in touch with nature. "I wanted to do a very self-explanatory collection this season" Simons said. "I wanted it to be about the very idea of spring."

An audience which included Sigourney Weaver and Jessica Alba saw models appearing from the ground and strolling through privet hedges with clothes that blossomed with multi-layered floral embroideries.

Simons showed off the craft the Paris ateliers are famous for with intricate jewelled embellishment reminiscent of blossoming cherry trees and fluttering silk petals on the bodices of dresses.

The simplicity of the idea belied the complexity of its execution.