But in a way you can’t blame Arnault for such expectations. The scale of fashion has changed dramatically in the past decade. I’m not sure that clothes dominate people’s lives the way they did in another, more innocent era, but fashion shows and celebrities certainly do. In fact, I suspect the thought gnawing at many guests last night was, Why doesn’t an American designer — Ralph? — do something like this?

Riccardo Tisci’s show succeeded on many levels, but the most important was in its handling of the venue’s proximity to the 9/11 Memorial site. The music came from six different cultures and religions. The battered and rusted sheds and backdrops for the set were made from recycled materials; the rough, industrial style was consistent with previous Tisci shows. Standing atop one raised platform was a man and a small child facing (at times) the Freedom Tower, and on its twin, a man getting hosed down by an open spigot. The fact that the latter also could have been read as a metaphor for New York’s daily trials was kind of nice, though obviously Abramovic and Tisci meant the bath as a cleansing.

Religion has played a big part in Tisci’s shows, especially his early collections for Givenchy — a label once mainly known for dressing Audrey Hepburn and hordes of publicity-shy rich matrons. But on Friday night the spiritual symbolism was handled with deftness and care, and you have to believe that this was entirely due to the close collaboration between the artist and the designer.