Lemaire proved something I keep telling people: you can build a whole atmosphere without spectacle. The runway was bare, set in a soaring concrete hall inside the Opera Bastille, and halfway through an extract of rainfall played while giant fans pushed a breeze across the room. One model pulled his windbreaker hood up at once. Another sped up like he was looking for shelter.

This happened during a Paris heatwave nobody could escape, so the fake downpour felt like a small gift. I love that Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran think about every element this carefully.

What I noticed next was how many people were carrying something. Bags showed up in most looks, more than half of the lineup, and that is where I want to start.

The casting is a Lemaire signature, and this season the models looked diverse and very specific, like characters who actually live in these clothes. They toted their bags the way you see people do on the street, with no posing. With a bag in about three in five looks, it works as part of the outfit rather than a finishing touch.

I would happily carry a Croissant, and the croissant shape suits this show: soft, a little humble, completely sure of itself.

Then there are the shoes. Many models dressed up their looks and then wore flip-flops, which is about a quarter of the show. To my eye, nothing says ease more plainly, and I wish more designers had the nerve.

Tran said they wanted a sense of calm this season. In her words, it was about "being a bit more present to things that you see and feel." I think that explains the clothes better than any fabric note could.

The early looks leaned toward cotton voile and mesh, light and occasionally transparent, in pale shades like a lemon sorbet blouse. Later the weights got deeper and more wood-toned, including a brown sculpted dress that seemed to let the wind pass through it.

The knit that sticks with me is the vermillion racer-back dress with the coiled neckline. It opened the show and came back as the last look. Knitwear that cozy and that sharp is what I want from a sweater: the alpaca and yak turtleneck feels like the right neighbor for it.

What stays with me is how straightforward the whole thing was. Full-length trousers appeared in most looks, nearly two thirds of the show, and I think they were the backbone. Dresses and skirts came in about a quarter of the looks, so the balance leaned calm and easy.

Sunglasses appeared in about one in five looks, a small detail that suits the heat of the week.

The red dress returning at the end sent a hot charge through all that calm, and I loved it. I would wear the trousers, the bag, and the flip-flops, then pull my hood up when the fake rain starts.