Strains of "Paris, j'ai pris perpète," sung live by French singer Émilie Simon, filled the recently renovated Salle Wagram in Paris as French couturier Franck Sorbier showcased a Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2014 collection inspired by the 19th century demi-monde lifestyle.

Titled “Poemes,” the collection, presented July 9, was a succession of long, sensual dresses of floral lace or delicate, hand-painted organza. The designer patch-worked vintage silk fabric and laces, woven ribbons, and embroidered raffia, and used his compression technique on fabrics to create languorous eveningwear that harked back to a bygone era. As with his medieval-themed collection last fall, Sorbier worked with rich fabrics from Maison Solstiss and Declercq Passementiers, and one piece even incorporated vintage embroideries by the famed Maison Lesage.

Helping to transport his audience, for a brief moment during couture week, into the Parisian Belle Epoque was this image of its beautiful courtesans, set against the grand, atmospheric and theatrical boudoir hall.

Sorbier’s vision of couture is always an extremely cultured one, full of references to other artists and their works. Here, the poets of the end of the 19th century helped carry his designs — so often products of pure creativity without a strictly commercial vision.