Louis Vuitton draws fashion set to Gare du Nord for runway show

Just days after an unexploded World War II bomb near Paris' Gare du Nord briefly stole headlines, a different kind of spectacle unfolded across the street: Louis Vuitton's fashion show extravaganza on Monday evening.

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The only explosions here at Paris Fashion Week were in fabric, form and a frenetic imagination. When designer Nicolas Ghesquière emerged for his bow, the audience's adulation reached a fever pitch, so much so that French first lady Brigitte Macron, in a rarely seen display of exuberance, leapt to her feet to plant a kiss on him.

The setting was "L'Étoile du Nord," described by Louis Vuitton as "a hidden station where past and future travellers converge, evoking the golden age of railway adventure." The show took place in this historic 1845 building, originally constructed for the Compagnie du Nord railway company to house its offices. Its atrium was meticulously transformed into a grand train station waiting room for the ready-to-wear display, reinforcing the theme of travel, anticipation, and adventure - Vuitton's very DNA.