PARIS, Oct 2, 2006/ FW/ --- Snapshots from the past, present and future, Alena Akhmadullina based her collection on the aesthetics of old fashioned saloon photography from the 19th century.

She had six different photography sessions each one more elaborate and more artistic, the final scene was a cutout caricature of different influences ranging from Quaker to angelic, the garments were all white with elevated collars, costume constructed hats and dresses.

The clothes appeared to have been cut out of some kind of stiff material and placed on the models like paper dolls clothes stiff and unmoving, you could envision the tabs that you fold over the dolls shoulder to hold the dresses on.

The color palette reflected the ideals of old -time photography with use of Sepia, White and Black. Later in the show brighter more modern colors such as pink, green and blue were introduced this was also the segment that included hats that brought to mind the nursery rhyme "little miss muffet sat on a tuffet" the exaggerated and elaborate construction elicited a round of applause for sheer daring and artistic styling.

The designer worked with dyed and silk screened fabrics for clothes that looked as though they had been marked by time, or rather a moment in time. The collection starts out very sheer and minimal and steadily builds up in increasing volume. First items for instance bows are printed on the clothes, then embroidered, then stitched then finally it explodes at the end in a papier-mâché tower.

Staying true to her selected period, there were a lot of women dressed as men, reflecting the time when women began to reclaim some of the masculine dress styles, such as pants and men's suit jackets. There were also long skirted, natural waisted dresses in soft feminine fabrics, the black and white version which involved heavily worked embroidery was the most visually stimulating and a truly standout piece.

An emerging trend was spotted in her use of scalloped edges in the underpinnings of her dresses. It gave more shape and body to the dress as rounded edges swept the floor in increments.

Alena’s photography session won over the impasse crowd and their burst of applause and murmurs of enjoyment are sure to carry on into her next season.