Oscar winner Cher makes a cameo at Balmain’s ‘festival’ in Paris

Olivier Rousteing proved he is one of global fashion's biggest showmen – putting on, yet again, not a show but a festival for Balmain that took place in a giant stadium. Of course, the greatest celebrity moment of Paris Fashion Week just had to be clinched here – when the designer came out at the end arm in arm with Cher.

The 76-year-old Oscar winner trod the boards all smiles – to screams from the crowds – in a marbled spandex bodysuit, plunging neck, platform wedges and the house's famed peaked shoulders. "Just had best time on stage, felt great," she tweeted shortly after.

Balmain said it was celebrating the best in food, music and fashion within the pop-up village replete with stands – in western Paris' Jean-Bouin stadium – more used to hosting rugby matches than spandex suits. Around 10,000 tickets were made available for the general public provided they made a charity donation.

Amid the razzmatazz, some guests may be forgiven for forgetting that the point of the event was the clothes. The looks, which merged ready-to-wear with couture, had some memorable moments – the fruit of the Balmain design teams foraging in the forest for organic materials.

One unique bustier was created with the bark from chestnut trees, while looks in basketweave were fashioned from materials out of bogs and meadows, all softened in water for an ethnic look.

But this show was also an emotional and cultural exploration for Rousteing himself – someone who has been vocal about his adoption, and who recently discovered that his biological parents were from the Horn of Africa.

"Throughout, the influence of Africa is, of course, quite easy to spot," the designer said. "(The discovery) only served to intensify my lifelong fascination with the beauty, traditions and designs of that region."