PARIS, March 3, 2005 - When you've waited for a fashion show to start with boisterous Dutch editors on one side, and German editors on the other, the thing you'd most like to hear on the show's soundtrack would be the dulcet tones of French. That was not to be the case at the Leonard show on Thursday, as the lyrics blasted out in English loud enough to wake the dead: "She comes in colors".

And she certainly did.

Leonard is for Paris what Pucci is for Milan, and the venerable label was founded long before the models on the catwalk were even born. And it's no easy thing to continue to turn out prints each season, nor to show them successfully, because it's much the same as looking at all black. Your eyes get so tired you can't tell one flower from another. Fortunately, midway through the show, a set of leopard print slacks and jackets caught the attention. Some were worn with satin slacks, others spruced up with fur trimming. A series of interesting dresses, ringed in abstract print bands, also stood out during the long show.