The show opened with a slate-grey dress tiled with a whiplash of rectangular sequins from hip to knee. A series of powerful neutral looks followedvery Lisbeth Salander makes it to the executive suite.
Colour arrived on model Alana Zimmer in a mustard wool coat with a neat, high collar and curve-tracing seams. From there, Farhi brought in golds, bronzes and coppers. These were at their most surprising when they came as plastic shards on skirts and coats, a synthetic shag that amplified and tightened the feel of wild lambskins of other collections.
Between the opulent setting at the Royal Courts of Justice and the precious metal hues, it made sense that Farhi cited gold-crazy Gustav Klimt, the Art Nouveau painter behind The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I. This year, Vienna is commemorating what would have been Klimts 150
Farhi too has a milestone to celebrate in Klimts banner year: her 30