The clothes, when they came out, were themed around ‘coming of age’ and in the spectrum of saturated colours and exuberant ideas (floor-sweeping skirts, neoprene armour) that followed, anything seemed possible.

However this fashion show was less about clothing than about Abloh, the man. Partly, his life and achievements, including his status as fashion’s most powerful black executive: rising over the scene was a 15m-high statue of himself.

But the evening also deliberately highlighted his jarring absence. The soundtrack – painstakingly chosen by Abloh, who moonlighted as a DJ as well as a furniture designer – was eerie. “How am I supposed I leave?” intoned one lyric.

Many of the guests watched on with tear-stained faces, embracing each other in grief. After the last outfit, the Louis Vuitton studio staff, also visibly emotional,  came out onto the runway in Abloh’s place. Then fireworks, followed by darkness and silence, before the crowd were left to wonder what they’d just witnessed.

In the 48 hours after then designer’s death Louis Vuitton had had to scramble to extend the guest list and allow 310 extra guests to attend, adding standing tickets to accommodate demand. They included Abloh’s friend Kanye West, along with Kim Kardashian, Pharrell Williams, Miranda Kerr and the entire Arnault family – led by billionaire LVMH owner Bernard Arnault – plus Abloh’s friends, fellow designers, fashion editors and 900 high-spending LV customers. Perhaps less predictable was the appearance of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who posed for pictures before the show, mingling with a throng who had come to comfort each other, celebrate, and mourn.