Stéphane Rolland’s international popularity is on the rise. The only necessary barometer is Beyoncé Knowles – she’s a professed fan, and with that kind of backing – you’re pretty much in like Flynn.

Rolland’s latest couture offering was heavy on motif, but the choice of trope was quite dazzling. Throughout the collection Rolland made great use of an embellished detail that continued to morph itself onto different dresses, in various materials, in different patterns – yet, it still came off looking like the “animal” per se. Sometimes it appeared in the form of frontispieces to minis and whole gowns, while on other garments they worked as accents on shoulders or became instilled in the fabric itself, like deconstructed brocade.

Strangely enough this touch looked a bit like H.R. Giger’s membranous creatures from Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’. In the third look out, it was affixed in three different shades of tulle and draped like a descending corsage. That’s one way to look at it. Another is like a parasite on a host. It would change shape and location throughout the run of the show, sometimes appearing in silk, at other times, in metallic chevrons. The mood this collection instilled was dark, but romantic – like a band of sorceresses who keep their loyal chameleon-like minions affixed to them. Something magical was certainly at play; the setting surely helped – from the bombast of that eternal runway, to the extravagance of the Place du Trocadero, but mainly it was the clothes – from the mind-boggling weave-work, to the romantic silhouettes and even the bewitching makeup. The best offering came in a vibrant, candy yellow, long-sleeve tube dress that opens into a dark degrade at the bottom, with her little friend, this time, articulated into a ladder of bows, slithering down the right side of her back. That degrade was the most enthralling and subtle touch of magic – like catching the sorceress just moments before she disappears into a plume of smoke.