Aalto fetes Finnish midsummer at Paris Fashion Week open

Paris kicked off the last leg of the spring/summer 2016 catwalk season on Tuesday with Finnish brand Aalto presenting its "Endless Sun" line, inspired by the Nordic mid-summer.

Finnish-born, Paris-based designer Tuomas Merikoski said he wanted, through the womenswear collection, to recall images of young people gathering with friends in the woods in Finland for traditional midsummer parties and bonfires.

"It is a very specific moment and feeling," he told Reuters. "There is the summer solstice, so no night time really, and people are very happy to be outside ... after a long winter."

The brand, whose name in Finnish means "wave", played with cuts on white dresses and asymmetric beige skirts. Sleeves were slashed at the front midway or all the way down.

Models wore loose tailored suits as well as long dresses over trousers, sometimes with large jumpers on top.

After New York, London and Milan, Paris wraps the fashion calendar for next spring's womenswear.

The French fashion capital, home to some of the world's most renowned designer houses, will host nine days of catwalk shows and presentations from brands such as Dior, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.