Art Deco was the theme of the season for Tamara Ralph, providing ample inspiration for her party-girl silhouettes dipped lavishly in old-world glamour, with touches of geometry that gave the collection, dominated by a pared-back palette of ivory and rose gold, backbone. “There’s a lot of structure in the silhouettes, a lot of angles, a lot of geometric details,” said Ralph backstage before the show.

Beaded creations with teardrop crystals evoked chandeliers, while sculptural pieces were embellished with strings of giant pearls and crystal mesh body-hugging designs evoked slinky reverberations of disco balls. Champagne and oysters, anyone?

Behind the glitz and glam, the technicality of some of the designs was the true spectacle. The opening look, with a sculpted resin bodice inlaid with mother-of-pearl and polished by hand, was one such example, necessitating several months of prototyping and eight weeks of handiwork afterward. The bride came in a beaded gown with a mesh over layer adorned with hundreds of shards of shell stitched into place.

In between there was yard upon yard of silk draped and pleated to enhance the figure, glittering tweed, taffeta flounces, trains and bows, animal motif embroideries, an ostrich leather coat with matching over-the-knee boots and an ombré ostrich feather coat, for instance. A series of hourglass shapes with sweetheart necklines in the deepest black velvet highlighted the curves of the body, punctuated in places by pearl embroideries or elsewhere in pale satin overlaid with tulle. One look, in embroidered black tulle, already had its place on the front row, sported in miniature by Ralph’s infant daughter.

Among the most striking looks, the geometric patterns of designs sculpted from hundreds of bugle sequins were fitting tributes to Art Deco design in its centenary year.