The clock struck 10. In a cloud of steam, a gleaming locomotive pulled into the station. From the first carriage – its smart black and royal blue livery painted in gold letters with the name of Louis Vuitton – stepped 47 of the most glamorous travellers anyone is ever likely to see. After the hotel elevators, after the fairground carrousel, Marc Jacob’s fantasy for Louis Vuitton took a new trip with Fall/Winter 2012-2013 collection that was once a playful nod back to the House”s past and a provocative look forwards to the future of fashion.

To Louis Vuitton’s historic hat boxes, luxuriously revisited in crocodile, was added an extraordinary array of bags in which each traveller might – in the tradition of the House – pack her most treasured possessions. The true standouts are always the bags – the ultimate craftsmanship creation.

The train travelled 12 days from Paris to Shanghai to re-stage for the first time the Paris show in order to celebrates its 20th year in China.