PARIS - IN THESE times heavy with financial worry, Paris' haute couture displays got off to a light start with young French designer Alexis Mabille, who delivered a winter 2010 collection of sheer, lacy confections.

Baby-doll dresses in white eyelet, toga-draped gowns and abbreviated cocktail numbers that looked as though they had been crafted from antique bed linens made up the collection, in a sweet palette of baby blues, pinks and ivory, with shimmering lame accents.

The collection also had a lingerie touch, with sheer shirts paired with hotpants short and tight enough to be satin panties.

Mabille, who has garnered critical praise and won clients including supermodel-turned-French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, accented the looks with big bows in black ribbon at the waist and bustline.

Little bows at the shoulders and the hips were the only thing anchoring a sexy, black hourglass gown to the model's body.

Mabille also peppered the collection with variations on the tuxedo, one of his signature looks.

One model wore a tuxedo coverall with a dramatic, plunging neckline and even the bride - traditionally the last look at Paris' wildly expensive made-to-measure collections - wore a tux, with sexy lace panels on the skintight pants. -- AP