PARIS, Jan 23, 2008 /FR/--- A picnic in the style of the impressionist painters, a summer evening at Biarritz or the Riviera in the thirties, a tribal excursion in the South Pacific and a nightclub party anywhere around the planet are the destinations which Franck Sorbier has proposed to the passengers that embarked on his voyage runway show this morning.

On the magic circle inside the Paris Cirque d’Hiver, covered for the circumstance with leaves of white paper à la Cocteau, two young men entered to unfold a tablecloth , completed by a picnic basket. Although the following looks were all of a delicate white dominant, one could not help but think of the impressionists, in an atmosphere oscillating between Renoir and Monet. Layers of organza were applied on corsets with much evanescence, white linen was sometimes worn under a thick but sheer blouse-dress with hand-painted petals. The deliciously nostalgic tableau was framed in a family scene, complete with men and children…

The second tableau vivant was set on the seaside and very thoughtfully integrated printed silks from the archives of Bianchini Ferier in beach robes, the perfect gear to indulge on a wooden deckchair at the seaside, especially when you are nostalgic of the thirties. As the evening goes along, Franck Sorbier proposed in this setting stunning combination pants, worn with a tunic and kimono of matching night blue muslin printed with various sizes of white polka dots, as well as wide pants of white linen and silk for the gentlemen sometimes worn with a wonderfully refinished and unlined jacket.

The third destination proved more exotic: as the stage was invaded by dancers from the South Pacific (actually the Marquises Islands, not far from Tahiti), the spotlight is on Franck Sorbier’s vision of the Maori culture: long bustier dresses of raffia, honouring the geometrics of primal arts, feather-embellished tiki gowns rival with an extraordinary bal dress entirely made with a patchwork of linen fabrics in various natural earthy shades.

It all ended up at a party where brightly coloured dresses of compressed organza conjured up a dance floor where girls like to dance the the night away with cocktails in their hands, be it in Rimini, Miami or Saint-Tropez.

Surprising, delicate, colourful, energetic, the collection by Franck Sorbier for the season is opening up new directions towards menswear and childrenwear, showing that the couturier’s eyes can also envision new horizons.

But the essential lies elsewhere: Is it in the consistency the designer and the house are showing with unusual themes and original design treatments and runway shows? Is it in the freedom they have acquired with their favourite techniques paired to the mastering of more traditional ones? Is it above all with the genuine, spontaneaous, generous drive that they have let flow through the company and collection? Maybe all three and more, as this presentation was really Franck Sorbier’s best runway show to date, creating a composite fashion poem never seen before anywhere else.

His bride could easily be the emblem of it all. When she joined the dancers in the finale, escorted by a groom in tuxedo and matching bermudas, she was not frightened of exhibiting endlessly long legs under a short puffy doll dress of lace worn with matching bonnet. When beauty is frank, love can be sincere and happiness celebrated in an extremely refreshing way.