Bodacious models, including Elle Macpherson - their curves barely under wraps in 1940s-style skirt suits - paraded in looks meant for "real women" at Louis Vuitton's autumn-winter 2010-11 ready-to-wear display on Wednesday.

French supermodel Laetitia Casta opened the show, which was channelling Christian Dior's iconic post-WWII New Look style, with nip-waisted jackets and ample skirts in dusty grey, powder pink and mauve hues.

Other runway stars, like Australian Macpherson - whose nickname "The Body" still rings true - and Dutch model Lara Stone, a size four (Australian size six), also rocked their womanly looks.

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"I feel like a real woman who is glamorous, who's taking care of herself, who's not afraid of her body," Czech-born model Karolina Kurkova said in a backstage interview.

Wednesday's show was among her first since giving birth to her son four months ago.

The line-up of curvy models was a welcome change from the rail-thin teenagers with bizarre postures and jerky gaits who dominate today's catwalks.

The women at Vuitton were the picture of refined elegance, strolling leisurely around a monumental fountain in the middle of the set.

Light streamed in through the plastic sheeting of the venue - a tent set up in a courtyard of the Louvre Museum.

After a week of unseasonably nippy weather in Paris, the crowd of fashion insiders finally thawed out in the hothouse-like tent.