The piano tinkled A Very Stylish Girl, the lights from the chandeliers were turned up and 10 models glided down the catwalk. Sasha's autumn collections got off to a very ritzy start in the ballroom of the Shelbourne hotel. It was like old times, when glamour and fashion went hand in hand.
It wasn't just the presentation which spelt glamour. The clothes are gorgeous, all Irish-made and selling in Sasha's 18 shops around the State.
From luxurious astrakhan and beaver fur coats (£90-£190 depending on length) to powder-blue and apple-green fitted wool suits and slinky black lace evening dresses, Sasha's aim is to supply the styles for every possible event. There are also zippy black leathers and real suedes (jackets under £70), soft moleskins in creamy colours, vivid fleecy sportswear and a preponderance of brown and grey trouser suits (jackets £59.99-£69.99).
That's only the half of it, for there are camel-coloured jersey tunics and long skirts (£29.99 each) and marvellously priced wax jackets in olive, red and egg-yoke yellow (£59.99).
The company's "Aine" label has a slightly dressier goal and specialises in evening clothes which can mean just a velvet top and stretch dupion trousers, most of which are skinny and cropped, no matter the fabric. Later in the season, there will be more emphasis on party-time with lots of black lace, velvet and gold embossed semi-see-throughs. Tight and almost transparent shorts are an evening option, and highly charged with some of the new-found glamour.
This is a wide-ranging collection. Choice is huge, but prime movers are the new-look furs, which could just be a cravat, a snappy fitted suit in a pretty colour, a big overcoat, a jersey two-piece and, of course, something clingy after dark, preferably in stretch lace or a dull satin. And satin is the only dull thing about this collection.