Chanel's Spring/Summer collection

Chanel presents a dreamy Spring/Summer collection at their haute couture show in Paris

PARIS, FRANCE - Swathes of silk and clouds of tulle charmed the super-rich at the Chanel haute couture show in Paris on Tuesday (January 26).

The models were wrapped mainly in dreamy pastel shades: purest white, baby blues or visions in pink.

Chanel's haute couture king, Karl Lagerfeld stuck to Chanel's time-honoured signature, simple colours, clear cuts and the classic skirt lengths. Even the hairstyles heralded by-gone days, bee-hives with grey strands.

Shiny satin dream and opulent silver and gold dresses disguised that talk off the catwalk at the Paris Fashion Week was of ways for luxury to trounce the financial depression.

The feel-good factor of haute couture gowns is essential to the world's most expensive brands, helping them sell bags and perfume to the masses, but that formula seemed less certain as the economic downturn depresses even the biggest of buyers.

With the noted absence of Christian Lacroix this year, there is a lot of focus on how the big French fashion houses are fighting the financial gloom. Chanel, in any case, is presenting Paris with it a pretty package of classic style and a luxury dream.