Paris haute couture: divine intervention by Serkan Cura and Ralph & Russo

Connecting with one's inner and outer goddess was a theme both fashion houses explored in their diva-esque haute couture collections, offering an array of heavily embellished ensembles fit for the modern-day temptress.

Serkan Cura wowed the crowds on Thursday with 15 fantastical waist-cinching creations. The designer behind the wings worn by Victoria's Secret Angels unabashedly channelled his fascination with the goddesses of Ancient Greece: Aphrodite, Athena, Arès, Medusa.

Corseted gowns with exaggerated hips got a smattering of crystals and lacing while cover-ups including a grey collarless coat, a midriff-revealing shrug and bomber jacket featuring the designer's sensational signature "feather art" (using ostrich and rare cock feathers) were among the show's standout pieces.

Over at the Grand Palais, London-based luxury label Ralph & Russo celebrated the "Goddess of Spring" with a majestic collection of diaphanous gowns and capes in jet black and midnight blue that coccoon the body.

Sheaths of organza and voluminous cloud-like gazar contrasted with fluid chiffons.

For the British design duo, "Alluring and fertile, the flower thematizes Haute Couture at its most abundant."

For the finale, Ralph & Russo presented a bravado of handicraft: a blushing ombré extravagance, bearing a hybrid of traditional and modern adornment and laden with crystals, pearls and silver thread.

After a great creative leap and an exhilarating evolution a year on from their Paris debut, in their show notes, Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo said that with this collection they hoped to offer clients a "cup of nectar (...) with Haute Couture that wields perennial beauty and eternal youth."