Anne Valerie Hash and Fatima Lopes kick off Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week kicked off yesterday. While the bigger names - Givenchy, Lacroix and Gaultier - will not be showing their new lines until the weekend, and Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent and John Galliano will not hit the runway until next week, Anne Valerie Hash – "one of the best-kept secrets in Paris fashion", according to Hilary Alexander of the Daily Telegraph - got the week off to a flying start.

While Hash may be a "secret" to some, she is well-known to the likes of Cate Blanchett, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts who call for creations from the house of Hash when they need to impress on the red carpet.

The Parisian's autumn/winter 09/10 was presented in the inspiring gilt and wood surrounds of her atelier – a former synagogue and restaurant – and by using metallics, lace and tulle she said she was aiming to "provide some light on these [recessionary] times". A tough call, but it worked.

Meanwhile, Fatima Lopes cited icons of the Virgin Mary as the inspiration for her collection (pictured above), though there were some who found it hard to imagine the mother of Christ donning buttock-skimming sheath dresses, skin-tight leggings or a breast-baring cocktail dress.

Also showing yesterday was Peachoo+Krejberg house, the design house formed by the Indian textile designer Peachoo Datwani and the Danish designer Roy Krejberg, some of whose collection appeared to have been influenced by the Yeti.

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