Australian audiences already got a sneak peek of the boots during the Olympics – Rinehart’s other cause célèbre – when medallists including Ariane Titmus and Emma McKeon sported gold Rossis to a victory party on a boat on the Seine. Rinehart, 70, has been a major financial supporter of Australian swimmers for more than a decade.

On Tuesday, that support translated into several Paris medallists, including Shayna Jack (wearing a gold swimsuit under her coat, no less), Elijah Winnington and Jack Cartwright, modelling in the show, held in King George Square. Of course, Brisbane will host the games in 2032.

As the sporting heroes turned models gingerly strutted down the runway wearing coats in shades of sandy orange, buttercup and more traditional khaki to the theme song from The Man From Snowy River, they were met with rapturous cheers from family members in the front row.

The coats also included linings that paid tribute to Australian pioneers, and two prints from Cairns-based Kaantju and Quandamooka designer Brianna Enoch, who’d already worked on a commission – a painted pair of sneakers – for Rinehart previously.