In pictures: Rami Al Ali's Paris debut

PARIS. 25th January 2012. Dubai based designer Rami Al Ali backstage before the start of his first ever Haute Couture show in Paris. Stephen Lock for The National. FOR ARTS & LIFE

Judging from his show on Wednesday, he clearly understands that to impress the stylists, buyers and editors attending Haute Couture Week in Paris he needs more than beautiful dresses and exquisite craftsmanship, and he raised his game accordingly.

One glistening pink gown, subtly tucked and draped at the bodice and covered in liquid beading, fell weightily into swathes of deconstructed ruffles.

Al Ali said he had adapted his collection for Paris. "It's structured, graphic, modern, young, very sensual, not heavy," he said. "Probably I wanted it to be a bit more bold. It's a new challenge - when you stick to the same routine it can be a bit boring???

Al Ali played a hands-on role in the presentation from tweaking the first fittings in the morning to directing his team in their arrangements and rearrangements of the gowns, which were displayed in a changing tableau of models.

The event was held in a suitably splendid venue. The Salon Pompadour, at Paris's exclusive Le Meurice hotel, a Rococo masterpiece of gilt, wall paintings, mirrors and huge, glittering chandeliers.