Paris in the spring, along the allees of the Palais Royale and the Tuileries Gardens, provides a stylish backdrop for the season’s trends and fashion contrasts. With as many shades of white as Farrow & Ball along with a deeper palette of brown, cobalt and orange, there’s metallic lustre and shine in jewelled and leather embellishment for day rather than nightime sparkle.

As if to underline the trend, Prada’s footwear features chunks of crystal on black suede while art motifs on pleats ramp up the energy in Chanel. Sportswear and the active life continue to exert a powerful influence on designers with new takes on surfwear’s neoprene for chic city bomber jackets and two tone-jeans. An expensive and elaborately crystal studded silk dress by Prada is dressed down in typical fashion with sports socks, plimsolls and a hibiscus print satchel.

There’s an easygoing look to the monochrome floral print shirt and orange crops from LK Bennett showing how to update and colour block a working 9-5 wardrobe in an Irish climate while Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel puts a new spin on its jaunty and impossibly expensive lace, pearls and raw-edged embossed rubber shorts and cardigans.

Here at home, John Rocha’s off-white silk georgette culottes and modern tunic-shaped coat in ivory tweed are matched with white brogues for a spring trinity that’s cool, minimalist yet romantic.