Following the flame

Fiery designer Sonia Rykiel revolutionised the fashion world in more ways than one when she appeared on the Parisian scene in the 1960s. Over the next few decades, she liberated women with her unconventional yet timeless designs, including comfortable striped knits and sweaters, culottes and braless dresses. Forty years on, her legacy has been entrusted to a different type of adventurer and the unlikeliest of candidates - a Sino-Portuguese designer by the name of Geraldo da Conceicao.

Change at Rykiel had been afoot since last year when Hong Kong investment firm Fung Brands acquired 80 per cent of the label's business. Rykiel had already taken on a lesser role due to Parkinson's disease, while president and daughter Nathalie stayed on as a consultant. In November, Fung Brands president Jean-Marc Loubier announced that da Conceicao would replace April Crichton as artistic director.

After his first show, da Conceicao already says he's aiming for further expansion in Asia, a region he hasn't visited for years.

Choosing a relatively obscure name to design for a successful fashion house is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, da Conceicao seemed perfectly primed for the role thanks to previous stints at Saint Laurent, Prada and Louis Vuitton.

After joining the company officially in January, he made his debut at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month.

The result was an autumn-winter collection that paid homage to Rykiel's signatures albeit with a modern twist. Her famous knits were transformed into skinny suits and tunics with trompe l'oeil lapels and buttons, while oversized jackets and cardigans came in beaver fur. Black fitted dresses featured a single stripe across the breasts and pink mohair triangles covering parts between the thighs - a tongue-in-cheek attempt to preserve modesty.