Mar 3 - Backstage after his show on day three of the Paris pret-a-porter collections on Thursday, Zac Posen summed up the kind of woman he dresses in four words: "Voracious, sexy, intelligent, chic."

Perhaps even something of an action comic-book character, too, judging from the uncompromising scalpel-sharp looks that he sent down the runway in a corner of the Palais de Tokyo stripped bare to the concrete.

Zac Posen - Paris Fashion Week A/W 2011 (photo: Pixel Formula)

Batgirl-like wings grew from the very low-cut back of a teal metamorphosis dress, while a black crocodile and stretch leather strapless dress looked perfect for tackling any evil villains who might pop up at a cocktail party.

Zac Posen - Paris Fashion Week A/W 2011 (photo: Pixel Formula)

No less intimidating was an aggressively tailored jet-black trouser suit and an equally figure-hugging oxidized sequin long-sleeve dress worthy of a outer-space science fiction heroine.

A New Yorker born and bred, Posen, 30, looking pretty sharp himself in a crisp grey suit, said he looked back to his earliest collections in preparing the show, cut the material at his studio, then finalised the outfits in Paris.

Zac Posen - Paris Fashion Week A/W 2011 (photo: Pixel Formula)

"I wanted to show a collection that was really tied to our customers' desires, to how she wears our clothing," he said. He might have added that that would have to be a customer who naturally oozes confidence.

The Paris shows hit their stride on Friday with all eyes on Christian Dior after the abrupt firing of its chief designer John Gallianio, 50, who is to appear in court over alleged racist comments at a chic Parisian cafe.