Photographed by Gabriel Karanfil

The staging for the Guy Laroche show, held Saturday morning in the Louvre, looked like a backdrop fit for gay pride day with rainbows arching across the ceiling and the stage.

The show that followed, however, was not so much high camp as it was high style, with artistic director Hervé L. LeRoux continuing to develop the codes that he explored in his first two collections for the label.

Models trooped down the white runway in high heeled sandals, while accessories played second fiddle to the clothing.

You could see it in the opening suits, skirts built of tiers of overlapping linen - cool, clean and seductive. You could see it in the exacting silhouette of a simple black cocktail dress, or the exuberance of the tulip cut licorice-colored gown that dissolved into folds of white pleats. You could see it in the set of airy prints as light as cotton candy clouds. This collection was a succinct expression of contemporary chic, clearly targeting the elegant woman of today.

If Guy Laroche is in somewhat of a renaissance, it's solely thanks to the artistic finesse of the designs of LeRoux.

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