Judging from the glamorous parties and store openings in Paris, you would be forgiven for thinking the economy is thriving -- prompting some observers to say the fashion industry is fiddling while Rome burns.

As harried retailers stay glued to their BlackBerrys for hourly stock market updates, partygoers throng to trendy nightclubs and upscale boutiques. It was a pleasure, therefore, to see a grounded collection from Stella McCartney kick off the ready-to-wear displays fashion week.

Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of the U.S. edition of Harper's Bazaar, justified this effervescence by saying fashion offered a glimmer of hope.

STELLA McCARTNEY

McCartney offered real clothes for real women, and with real sales potential.

There was plenty of flesh on offer, and not just the mile-high legs of the models perched on see-through perspex platforms. Nude tones mingled with soft shell pinks on outfits, including tailored jumpsuits with plunging necklines.

Elongated lapels gave a fresh new proportion to smart tailored suits inspired by the British designer's training on Savile Row, the London hub of made-to-measure suits. McCartney said that while she took a practical approach, there was room for fantasy even amid a global financial crisis.

"At times like these, sometimes it needs to get less real. I think you need to just find a balance," she said.

"I mean, in the fashion industry, it wouldn't be very exciting if it was all too real. I think that mine stands out, possibly, in this particular week as being one of the more real ones, but I think you look for that in Paris, the unreal," she said.

HERMES

French luxury brand Hermes pulled out the stops, opening its Far West-themed show with a rare catwalk appearance by 1990s supermodels Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour -- but these cowgirls were like nothing you've seen in Texas.

The models ambled down a fine sand runway dotted with giant cacti in outfits that had fashion editors silently scribbling wish lists.

Sheer poncho-style dresses, supple leather flared pants and fluid, draped jersey dresses were the height of luxury.

Campbell, wearing a va-va-voom black gypsy dress, closed the show by tossing her straw hat into the audience with a flourish.

KENZO

At Kenzo, Italian designer Antonio Marras showed outfits in botanical prints swarming with ribbons, pearls and shells inspired by the Lewis Carroll novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Sprigs and blossoms in Victorian watercolour shades bloomed on a floor-length cream chiffon gown that was draped over one shoulder.

Tunics and jackets made from a patchwork of patterned silks sprouted folds in the back, while silver sequins nestled in the fuzzy mohair petals of a knitted dress.