Giorgio Armani theme for his Spring Summer 2013 Haute Couture collection was that of “a traveller’s tale, the fabrics tell the story of an encounter between East and West”. Fabrics with their roots in Indian textiles were reconfigured into complex geometries all spliced and scaled to perfectly follow the lines of everything from skirts that puffed from waist to mid-calf to linear trouser suits. Armani’s trouser pieces came in heavy satin in black, ivory, ruby and fern green and were high-waisted and fitted to the knee then flared subtly to just above the ankle.

An idiosyncratic flourish came in the form of a “sceptre” wrapped in fabric that appeared at the necklines of dresses or between shoulder-blades from behind: it looked like an ancient scroll finishing otherwise more classic looks.

If the couture element here was mainly in the cut, fit and proportion of garments, for evening the jeweled embroideries beloved of many a red carpet stalwart made a glittering appearance, sparkling across dresses, waistcoats – worn with those trousers again – and on talon-heeled pumps and small but perfectly formed fringed bags.