Creative Director Charles De Vilmorin’s Rochas Spring 2022 RTW collection started with a group of looks whose palette and dark shimmer seemed informed by burning flames.

There were short and long plissé lamé dresses in shades of red and black and a knee-length red-and-orange number whose arms were traced by a wide band of winglike ruffles. The second grouping was devoted to his drawings, which looked whimsical and distinctive on their gowns-as-canvases, though curiously quite close in both color and style to the printed pieces De Vilmorin did for his own couture debut in January. In the show’s third section, he explored deconstruction: slicing shirtdresses at the shoulders, using drawstrings to create asymmetric volumes in skirts, and twisting and draping a long piece of fabric into a bandeau.

De Vilmorin had a crowd of heavy hitters in his audience, on the hunt for the next big thing after a year and a half of watching the Paris proceedings remotely. Asked how it feels to inherit a heritage label, he said, “It’s magical for me and a big, big challenge. I hope to tell a beautiful story.” Precisely what that story will be? That’s still taking shape.

Throwback to a few days before the Rochas Spring 2022 RTW show: the excitement and energy is building up and Charles de Vilmorin unveils the inspiration behind the much-anticipated collection. A new kind of fire is burning at the heart of the fashion house.