The Parisian Charm called Celine

When my mother first heard of the French fashion house Celine, her thought went to Celine Dion. "Is this a Celine Dion-conceived fashion label?" she asked me.

Not of course, I replied with a small laugh. Back then, I don't know much about this brand until the arrival of New York designer Michael Kors who successfully turned the house's fashion path around.

I know many of us could not forget his last Spring/Summer 2004 ready-to-wear collection for Celine that to my surprise, was entirely snapped by devout Malaysian fashionistas within a few months of its arrival at the Starhill boutique.

A year later, Kors left the house and succeeded by Roberto Menichetti who failed to create a spark at the French fashion house for only a year until the creative director chair was taken over by Croatian designer Ivana Omazic in 2006. Like Kors, Omazic managed to return the spark that was once gone for a while with her "women for women" ideas. Being a woman herself, she knows exactly how a woman wants to dress.

She created success with her debut collection for the house which features bright and sunny summer dress in orange as the show opener while the Fall/Winter 2006-07 collection received more approving nods from the fashion community. For the Spring/Summer 2007, light and airy is the theme for Celine's ready-to-wear collection.

Sheer materials such as chiffons and organza were used on the dresses and blouses, befitting its airy and light theme.

With clothes that looses on the body, wearer will not only feel comfortable but much more lighter especially in the hot summer seasons when refreshing air is much needed to cool down our bodies.

Trench coats, two-piece suit, transparent blouses and dresses were done in a color palette of black, white, off-white and metallic silver.

One of the dresses that caught my attention was an organza dress with knee-length hem and sprayed paint motifs in red and purple over a sheer layer. Another attention grabber piece was a black organza strapless babydoll dress with rosette details around the bust, a coincidence to one of Marchesa's Spring/Summer 2007 ready-to-wear lineups.

Accessories lineup from this season includes the new Bittersweet handbag, a spacious handbag that can be used both day and night for on-the-go women, mini Boogie bag in velvety black suede and leather trimming, Raffia heels with thorny side straps and violet flower details on the front, Macadam Pepper in blue washed denim and C sulky bags in Celine logo monogrammed canvas.

The Celine Spring/Summer 2007 ready-to-wear and accessories collection are available now at all Celine boutiques and multi-brand stores.

*Photos by Marcio Madeira for Style.com/VOGUE

Celine - UG3, Adorn Floor, Starhill Gallery, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur; Ground Floor, Isetan KLCC, Suria KLCC, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.