Was that wisp of see-through, black lace that barely veiled the model’s T&A, actually a dress? And that shred of chiffon, stretched taut over the torso, was that masquerading as a gown? Peter Dundas’s autumn/winter collection for Emilio Pucci was, in some respects, the story of the Incredible Shrinking Dress.

The Norwegian-born designer reached new highs in his microscopic, barely-there micro-slips for the Florentine brand. Sometimes, the covering was little more than a fringed scarf, albeit printed in dazzling Klimt-style gold and green, but still what most of us would consider an accessory. Yes, there were prints – the DNA of the label – and there were trouser-suits, which re-visited the Seventies' flares-fad, and there were clinging, stretch, silk-jersey gowns which appeared to cover the girl full-frontal: until she turned, that is, and revealed spinal cleavage only to be borne by the brave and the beautiful.

"Desirable, dangerous, sumptuous”, was how Dundas described his Seventies' muse, as once-envisaged by Helmut Newton. He took his inspiration from a 1972 print from the Pucci archives; an art nouveau kaleidoscope of swirls, which he then over-dyed and over-printed, on velvet and jacquard. Gilded, metallic lace - reminiscent of old kimonos - echoed the Orientalism of the Viennese school. Janis Joplin-style coats came in a mix of Mongolian lamb and python; fox gilets bristled with golden studs; and crystal-beaded, chiffon gowns were one-shouldered and fringed in gold. Stiletto-sandals and menswear-brogues, in snakeskin and leather, decorated with mink and beaver, came with five-inch heels, which accentuated the haute bohemian mood.

But it was the cut-and-thrust of the “lingerie looks” which dominated. If Dundas was aiming to catch the eye of the well-heeled babe-brigade, he succeeded.Hilary Alexander

Consuelo Castiglioni of Marni has long been renowned for the bohemian vibe of the label she founded in 1994. But, of late, she has been moving her “boho” aesthetic further and further forward. For next autumn/winter, she launched her muse into a contemporary world she called “twisted elegance.”

Her “future boho” adheres to a more austere line, in glazed and textured fabrics, in unexpected colour, almost architectural, combinations – dusky pink and matt olive; lettuce-green and beige; wine-red and sand

The silhouette, too, was more structured, with the emphasis on either a sculpted volume for dresses, which were gathered into loops under the bust, jackets, which swung out on the back, and fit-and-flip little skirts, which clung to the derriere and then flared out; or a cleaner, sharper line for tunic-tops and straight, long shorts, right to the knee – where they grazed the tops of sheer, black knee-highs, over-layered with olive ankle socks.

All-over geometric motifs, where circles collided with stripes, came in pink and orange, or red and orange, on a cream background, creating "modern art"-like swing-back jackets with cropped trousers, or a high-waisted dress, undulating around the knees.