British designer Hussein Chalayan is well known for staging dramatic, conceptual runway presentations. But at his Paris Fashion Week show on Thursday, he made the biggest splash of his career — literally.

In the center of the runway space at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, two models clad in papery lab coats stood still in a sterile white cube. Halfway through the show, simulated rain began to pour, and the coats disintegrated until nothing remained but the slinky, Swarovski crystal-embellished dresses underneath.

It was a magical moment met with uproarious applause — just don’t count on Chalayan to get you through Hurricane Joaquin.

https://instagram.com/p/8VPEiImGWR/