London-based couturier Nicholas Oakwell presented his hand-crafted collection for autumn 2013 in Claridges ballroom yesterday, ahead of the shows in Paris next week.

As if in reference to that, the setting was all Parisian rooftops and continental smoke-stacks, which models weaved among to show off Oakwell's 50s-inspired vision of skirt suits, bustier dresses and sinuous evening gowns. This was far from just ladylike tailoring however, with contoured jackets and pencil skirts made from paillettes of feathers and touches of fur and topped off with slinky underwear detailing.

The nipped-in waists and sleek silhouettes recalled the golden age of the discipline, an interesting route for a name relatively new to the field, further backed up with an Edith Piaf soundtrack and occasionwear that spoke of louche cocktail parties. Floor-length gowns were cut on the bias from oyster shades of silk that draped perfectly to cowl backs and tasselled drapes, clinging to the body in the way Mme Vionnet herself envisaged in the 30s.

That decade was prevalent too in fur chubbies carried nonchalantly, Bonnie Parker berets and fishtailed gowns of tulle spotted with fur cut into a leopard-print motif. Couture finishes came in the form of infinitessimally detailed dresses of shimmering and flashing bugle beads, with complex and elegant fringe back panels.

The couture season kick off in Paris on Sunday night with the Atelier Versace show.