PARIS, France — There was a decisive whiff of Balenciaga at the Jacquemus show today. Think Cristobal, not Demna or Nicolas. The rounded volumes, the fichu shapes, the nipped waists and the general air of Spanish drama owed a lot to the work of the master couturier. Of course, it was all done in a Jacquemus way: light, optimistic and bright.

It made for a noteworthy step forward for the designer:

has thankfully freed himself from the conceptual dungeon and gone in search of something more formally refined. What he presented today were proper clothes and a distinctive silhouette, which looked purposefully of the past. It seemed a sign of more to come.