Sparkling in the strobe lights, the models looked as if they were about to step onto a disco dance floor at Manish Arora's ready-to-wear show.
A "subtle hint of India" whispered down a catwalk here as collections by Indian designers Azara and Atsu were showcased in Milan Fashion Week's "new upcoming designers" section.
Christian Lacroix, whose show was always one of the hottest tickets in Paris fashion week, will be conspicuous by his absence from the round of ready-to-wear collections for next summer.
Designers at Milan fashion week preferred the demure to the provocative in womenswear collections for next spring, with some names sticking to their roots and what they are best known for to woo crunched buyers.
Atop vertiginous heels, Dsquared hiked off for a spring camping holiday, coining the term "glam-ping" at Milan Fashion Week for the city girl communing with nature.
British designer John Richmond pushed chic with attitude while languid femininity floated down Etro's catwalk at Milan Fashion Week.
The Emporio Armani collection made a case for playful elegance while Max Mara set a fluid dynamic and Bottega Veneta got nostalgic for the 1950s at Milan Fashion Week.
Scores of Maoist activists protested outside the venue of the controversial "Miss Nepal" contest, saying the beauty pageant was an insult to women.
Blumarine's Anna Molinari incited a riot of colours at Milan Fashion Week as muted hues clothed Alberta Ferretti's babydolls and Gianfranco Ferre's sophisticates.
Giorgio Armani let the body do the talking in Milan, with his spring/summer 2010 collection using bold linear cuts to set off bare shoulders and legs.
Milan took over the baton for the next leg of the fashion season, kicking off eight days of catwalk shows and presentations, despite a last-minute shuffling of slots that threw organizers into a fluster.
Bright colours and bold, graphic prints dominated the collections at London Fashion Week this season, while the influence of the 1980s also pervaded with metallics and jumpsuits all the rage.
Burberry returned to London Fashion Week in typically glamorous style, showing a classic collection in front of an A-list crowd to close what organisers say was one of the best seasons ever.
Fuchsia, orange, green and other strong colors brightened the collections at London Fashion Week by designers striving to make fashion fun again for women whose mood has been soured by the recession.
London Fashion Week may be celebrating its 25th birthday this season with a display of Britishness, but the creativity of the city is largely down to the mix of foreign talent that gathers here.