PARIS, Oct 4, 2004/ FW/ --- In her relentless effort to bring democracy to fashion for women everywhere, French designer, Isabelle Ballu, valiantly accepted the call of the Chambre Syndicale to open the official ready-to-wear season in Paris with a consistent collection rich in ideas.

Her little blue dress with brown panels on the sides and thin belt was on the money. The black “V” dress is an easy exercise in style for Ms. Ballu. Two-piece pink skirt outfit is also noteworthy.

All the skirts and dresses for this winter collection are above the knee. That is not surprising, though, it would have been nice to see what Ballu propose coats to wear with them.

Her ensemble with black interior lining in the pants was well done. Her paper thin dress in salmon was a delight to see. It should do very well for Ms. Ballu on a commercial level.

I’m not too sure that women will still be wearing Capri pants next year as Ballu has suggested in this collection. However, only time will tell as some other designers are doing the same too this season.

With hair befitting of a Star Wars heroin, the model’s lack of runway experience showed as the models tried to navigate themselves up and down the dangerous makeshift three-step stairs. However, the overall chic of the collection made us all soon forget that.

In the latter part of the collections, the dresses proved to be the strongest point in Ballu’s collection. Her printed puff skirt and yellow top in wool was very nice and appealing to the eyes.

Ballu has developed a natural penchant for eveningwear. It was evidenced in the string of love long dresses that closed the show.

Among the best from this collection were the baby doll dress in black and the two long seventies-inspired, printed housedresses. They were tuned up for formally receiving.

But to get a clear idea of what they look like, one has only to close his eyes and think of Bea Author’s character of Maude.

With that, if is safe to say that Ms. Ballu has really stumbled onto something great worthy of her skills.