Crocheted Coquetry from Sonia Rykiel

PARIS, March 3, 2006 - There's something so ultra-French about Sonia Rykiel's shows, and underlying it all is her light, playful approach to sex. That was more than demonstrated in the finale of transparent lacy lingerie worn over hardly anything, and unable to contain at lest one model's breasts. The accompanying French song named every euphemistic expression imaginable before finally summing it up with the f word.

But you could see the same coquetry in the opening charcoal-gray knits, some with ruffles hanging out like a protruding petticoat, others ornamented with bows, and yet another pulled back to expose a bare shoulder.

There was a certain tease to plumed capes, undulating minks, and a champagne-colored cocktail dress skirt split and trimmed with ostrich feathers.

Black ruled the catwalk, but the workmanship of an apricot dress sewn of layers of chiffon tile and ornamented with cabbage clusters made for a sparkling highlight.

So what if one model had a near career ending slip at a most indelicate moment - just in front of the photographers' pit. She tossed if off saying, "It's just not my day!"

But it was Sonia's. This collection was stellar.