PARIS - Barbara Bui's Paris fall-winter offering shows she really knows how to put the ready in ready-to-wear with an elegant collection of lames, woollens and flowing dresses that the models could have worn straight out onto the street.

It was perhaps the relatively down-to-earth choice of muses, including Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall (living, breathing people, not deities or aliens as some designers have it), that meant the clothes looked unfussy, clean-lined and wearable. Or was it that the brand is known to be commercially minded?

Either way there was plenty on the menu for the Bui woman: big alpaca jerseys, finely quilted satin tops and military greatcoats that rubbed accentuated shoulder to accentuated shoulder in a palette of black, pearl, brown and gold.

A beautiful and subtle jabot-collared silk blouse had a flavour of the glory days of Yves Saint Laurent, while several short cheongsams, also known as Mandarin gowns, ticked the box for the Eastern-looking trend this fall.

Breaking new ground is clearly not the seasoned designer's main priority. Showcasing covetable and highly buyable clothes is.