One thing is for sure – Gabriela Hearst has cojones if we may say so. One year after she danced out of Chloé on the banks of the Seine – the hottest label in fashion right now under successor Chemena Kamali – Hearst has no intention of hiding stateside like many of her New York peers who have held bigger positions at European luxury houses. They clearly prefer to use the Euro cachet and turn it into money by dominating the US market. Hearst had other plans and came back to the fashion capital and went straight into Karl Lagerfeld’s former home in Saint-Germain – yes, a Chloé alumnus like her – and presented one of her best collections in years with a new lighter touch, more youthful edge, less of a heavy hand and still all the DNA of the Vaquera she is. Beautiful constructions, great dosage on the silhouette and lots of trendspotting like beautiful slip dresses with lace to catch the season‘s lingerie theme. It was a self-assured show with a small guest list and all the power brokers of the industry in place. Hearst indicated she was inspired by deities and put major research into the field from renown Aphrodite to of course Kamala, an Indian prosperity goddess.