In a show which spanned across a range of images from Swinging London and Top of the Pops to Jackie O and Barbarella, we got some great, eminently wearable fashion - snappy suits, haute glam coats and devilishly chic fox fur coats.

Galliano did his best work for day, with some intriguingly well-proportioned lunch suits, cut with smart front vents on skirt and jacket, a smooth reminder of what a great tailor he can be.

The show also had lots of easy-on-the-eye merchandise, from square heeled crocodile shoes to an impressive collection of shell shaped totes embossed with colorful crystals; the same baubles that turned up on a fine series of coat dresses. Made in hues of blushing pink, acid lime and metallic caramel this was a decidedly optimistic collection.

Adding to the humor was the truly humongous dolly bird hair and Edie Sedgwick inspired heavy eye liner look, even if this was a tad too much - seeing Canadian mini model Irina Lazareanu look like a Lady Bunny doppelganger was faintly disturbing.

Bizarrely, given Dior's normally slick production values, the staging was flaky. Light cues that went wrong, causing photographers to howl, a bizarre de Chirico like backdrop of a rain swept wall and staircase that seemed to have little to do with the clothes on the runway, and a silver black program that was impossible to read in the murky pre-show lightning. Moreover, the musical choices were baffling. Playing the Simon and Garfunkel classic “Mrs. Robinson” no less than three times, culminating with Galliano's bow, seemed pointless.

That said, what mattered was the upbeat mood of the clothes, a collection for hip gals who want style with a dose of sauce, which this collection delivered.

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