Staging his third show as artistic director of Celine, Michael Rider has crystallized his fashion sweet spot as classics “with bite.”

It’s a trenchant way to sum up his magnificent clothes, which are familiar, often sober and sometimes austere – but sharpened or disrupted, so a tailored jacket or slim pants might flare out in a slightly gawky way, or the gold buttons on a jacket or coat might seem abnormally small, but there’s something cool about that.

To be sure, this collection was more dressed-up and styled to a T: from the demonstrative derby and bucket hats on down to the squishy plimsolls or kitten-heel granny boots, often in white – outré for fall.

Rider also concentrated on slimmer silhouettes because it “just felt fresh,” he said backstage, adding his voice to a chorus of leading designers advocating for sleeker shapes come fall.

As for his flared flood pants – whether in dark dressy wools, or plush, brightly colored fabrics – he said they “felt kicky.”

The venue was a giant wooden box tucked in a courtyard behind the Institut de France. It sheltered a bright, attic-like space appointed with imposing wood and steel speakers by Matéo Garcia Audio that would later pump out live recordings of Prince, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and Pastor T.L. Barrett and The Youth for Christ Orchestra, which heightened the groovy ’70s vibe percolating through some of the clothes.

Rider was trying to evoke a jam session, as something similar happens in the Celine studio.

“Sometimes putting the collection together, everybody’s riffing on each other,” he told a small group of reporters. “There is something about the way that we work that’s very collaborative, and that can sometimes feel like a bunch of people who get together and make music.”

Another topic of conversation in the design department was “the complex, slightly messier inner lives of the people under beautiful clothes.”

“It was a nice place to begin. We talked a lot about that,” he said.

However, none of his runway characters seemed to be coming undone, though some hugged padded silk scarves like a child might a stuffed animal, or wound a stiffened silk scarf so far up the neck they obscured much of the face.

Rider famously worked under Phoebe Philo at Celine, and all the white satin on display had an echo of her influential spring 2013 collection, though buffed to a much higher polish. Swags of the glossy fabric, or simple tunics demarcated with bows, were a nice alternative for evening.

He also sparked his collection with unexpected bursts – make that bites – of color, pattern, logos and embellishments.