The fashion industry gathered in Paris for what could rightly be called 'a moment' this morning, for once all of them un-fashionably early for designer Nicolas Ghesquiere's debut collection at Louis Vuitton.

Left on each seat was a letter from the designer, thanking press and buyers for their support of the brand, and nodding to Marc Jacobs's towering achievements there in previous seasons.

'The proud legacy. The inspiring history that looks to the future and to the world,' Ghesquiere wrote in a blocky courier font. 'Does not every designer ultimately seek to create something timeless?'

The collection itself expressed this, in a pseudo-Sixties feel - minidresses and tunics - given a techy and sci-fi edge in moulded shoulders, contrast texture panelling of leather, neoprene and silk, and oversized zips. Collars and lapels were exaggerated, funnel necks elongated, and skirts came in chintzy prints, both rigidly A-line and more sinuously fit-and-flare.

The silhouette was a Ghesquiere classic: contemporary and familiar on first look, but subtly altered and realigned - long in the torso, wide on the yoke, bagged on the hips - on closer inspection, for the more daring customer to show off her fashion credentials. Likewise, the house's bags were re-interpeted in more singular shapes: a box clutch, a one-handled tote, and coffret-esque mini bags, embossed and monogrammed, just as the low-heeled ankle boots were.

Model Freja Beha Ericcsen opened the show, and Maggie Rizer was also cast. And as the models walked their finale, the applause was rapturous.