Italian designer Alessandra Facchinetti
© AFP Pierre Verdy

PARIS (AFP) - While not according her a standing ovation, the audience's applause when she appeared on the runway at the end reflected the general consensus that this was a very promising start.

Speaking after the show she said: "Elegance, femininity, that's what it is all about. The style of Valentino is the basis of my work, that cannot be changed. But the proportion is more updated."

Valentino afficionados detected and approved her modernising touch. "It was very airy, more modern, not just younger. Also extremely feminine and subtle," one loyal customer commented to AFP.

There was definitely a different feel about the tailoring and the silhouette in Facchinetti's lines for next autumn-winter.

A model for Valentino
© AFP Pierre Verdy

Coats were gently gathered from high collars or yokes, softening the shoulders and giving extra fullness at the back. A swathe of mock smocking round the neck of a taupe coat looked like a mini-cape.

Flat matt belts with a prominent gilt buckle cinched the waistlines of silk chiffon blouses and frocks. Some asymmetric, dipping hems were a new departure.

Stand-out pieces included a midnight blue cocoon coat encrusted with embroidery and pearls and lots of frocks with stocking sheer backs in dusty pastels with ruffled laser-cut lace sleeves, ruffling being a Facchinetti specialty.

After Valentino's swansong with an entire sequence of his hallmark red, Facchinetti restricted herself to just two evening gowns.

Front-row celebrities included Winona Ryder, Marisa Berenson and Rebecca Romijn of "Ugly Betty" fame.

Thursday's show was perhaps even more nerve-wrecking for Facchinetti after her false start at Gucci, where she replaced the charistmatic Tom Ford, but parted company after "managerial disagreements" only days after presenting her second collection.

Models for Valentino
© AFP Pierre Verdy

But as one insider put it: "Just because she didn't fit at Gucci doesn't mean she won't work out here. Valentino is closer to her personal aesthetic."

At Leonard Veronique Leroy favored the easy kaftan shape in all lengths from mini to floor sweeping for the house's signature prints.

Her palette ran the gamut from autumnal shades of rust, chocolate and saffron, to hot combinations of scarlet, violet and cyclamen pink.

Geometric and floral prints were often jumbled together, picked out with lurex, satin ribbons or strips of shiny plastic, with contrasting bands edging three-quarter length sleeves, waists and hemlines.

Eye-catching stand-alone prints included a black and white floral splashed with fuschia and fan motifs.

©AFP