Then, quick as lightning, the Italian artist regained his composure, turning to greet the guests assembled to celebrate the temporary installation he has created at Calvin Klein's Paris flagship.

After earlier launches at Calvin Klein stores in New York and Dallas, Plessi's third and final showing proved to be a little awkward though.

In New York, the video artist suspended five rotating logs containing video screens from the ceiling. In Paris, however, the ceilings are much lower and a log had to be attached to a metal frame from which it twirled slowly. The artist held court beside the installation as unsuspecting guests were surprised to find a tree trunk careening toward them, albeit at an ultra-slow pace.

"You really have to get down close and look," explained Plessi, referring to the flames represented on a video screen inside the log. The artist, clad in a black Calvin Klein suit, described this form of close examination as a metaphor for the qualities he most admires in Klein's work: subtlety and attention to detail.

The artist and the designer first got to know each other after Klein went to see a Plessi show and showered the artist with compliments afterwards. According to Plessi, their similar natures and styles can be seen in something as abstract as the "equilibrium" exhibited by Plessi's juxtaposition of wood (natural) with video (technology).

The Avenue Montaigne store is Klein's first wholly independent Calvin Klein Collection store in Europe and replaces two franchised outlets on the same street. Designed by architect John Pawson, the 550 square-meter space, in a magnificent Haussmann building, houses the entire men's, women's and home ranges on its two levels. Opened in June, the space was officially inaugurated by Klein himself in October during Paris Fashion Week.

At this latest event in the young boutique, guests certainly had to be on their toes. First, there were the concerns over being butted in the posterior by an over-grown branch or spilling a ruby-red cocktail on the store's pale décor. The stress level was then compounded by the possibility of being caught on camera in less than fabulous footwear.

As guests mingled, the head of Pascal Morabito could be spotted bobbing up and down at regular intervals followed by flashes of light and surprised looks on faces. The French jeweler, sculptor and perfumer explained to FWD that he is photographing people's feet for an exhibition and book he intends to bring out next winter. There will in fact be two books - one photographic, the other a series of personal reminiscences.

"I'm going to Milan next week and Turkey the week after," explained the globetrotting multi-tasker. "The thing is, there are no faces in these pictures and only the person pictured will recognize their own shoes."

Morabito's interest didn't stay resolutely below the ankles though. Snapping the midriff of a curvaceous brunette swathed in mink, who attracted a lot of male attention in the store, the photographer whispered cheekily, "That one's for my own personal archive!"