One of the great joys of working at a women’s magazine is listening to the staff in the fashion office talking about what’s in and out.

Because it is their life and livelihood, they don’t know how insane it sounds to a normal person when one of them says very solemnly “visible g strings are back” or “Meghan Markle really could have made more of an effort at Wimbledon – she’s phoning it in with that boring new mum outfit”.

I particularly like asking the digital editors what’s going on in the fashion world because they have an eye on everything, given the amount of content they have to produce daily. No fly away hair goes unnoticed.

“Celine Dion at the couture shows in Paris this week – that’s a thing”.

Well it certainly is.

Celine has taken to attending the couture shows in Paris each season wearing a series of very weird and wonderful outfits.

Her transformation from mainstream chanteuse to high fashion maven has largely been the work of her stylist, Law Roach, who apparently likes a bit of drama and excess.

Given that Dion is tall and very very slim, she is a dream to dress, and she parades the wacky creations like a queen, accessorizing an already over the top outfit with, say, two huge Weimaraner dogs on leashes, or an electric scooter.

Some of her outfits fall into the vaguely ridiculous category, but she is obviously enjoying herself breaking every style rule, so you have to give her props for that.

The circus that surrounds the fashion shows are as important as the show itself, the front row faces like Naomi Campbell, Gwyneth Paltrow and Margot Robbie probably getting more hits online than the runway looks.

But haute couture, and the exquisite workmanship produced in the ateliers of Chanel and Dior are the beating heart of fashion.

The first Chanel couture show, post Karl Lagerfeld, was a superb exercise in restraint by designer Virginie Viard.

Held within the Grand Palais, the set was a spectacular three-level circular library, with sliding staircases, shelves stacked with French classics by Flaubert and Stendhal.

The models looked like the most elegant librarians imaginable, with severe parted hair, wire spectacles and pale translucent skin, indoor intellectuals untouched by sun.

A model walks the runway during the Kithe Brewster Haute Couture show during Paris Fashion Week on July 03. Photo:Getty

The clothes were simply incredible – wide legged pants, wrap cardigans, high collars, and leather slippers, mannish classics that are the epitome of Chanel chic, unfussy and whip smart.

The show sat in quiet contrast to the antics of Dion, a reminder that couture is still about making beautiful, timeless clothes.

While the palaver that surrounds street style shenanigans and celebrity appearances is all part of the fun, for anyone interested in fashion there is nothing that comes close to a real couture show.

The sumptuous fabrics, the handwork, the beading, and the lavish embroideries, modelled by the most gorgeous women in the world.

The creations glide past you for a mere instant, but the precision, the beauty, the sheer femininity of the moment remains in your mind forever.