cinematic realism 1930s Cars in Period Settings Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 - Peugeot 402 Eclipse - Paris Fashion Week, Evening A midnight blue Peugeot 402 Eclipse convertible with retractable hardtop draws attention outside a Paris fashion house during evening showings. Gas-lit streetlamps illuminate the French machine's revolutionary power-operated roof as it silently disappears into the trunk compartment – mechanical theater for gathering spectators. Fashion journalists sketch the car alongside couture designs, both representing French aesthetic innovation despite economic and political uncertainties. The Peugeot's streamlined "fuseau Sochaux" styling with recessed headlamps behind waterfall grille suggests speed even while stationary. Elegantly dressed patrons emerge from the show to await chauffeur-driven cars while discussing hemlines and growing German militarism in equal measure. The Eclipse's owner, a textile magnate, demonstrates the roof mechanism to admirers, proud that French ingenuity created the world's first production power-retractable hardtop, the automotive equivalent of fashion's transformable garments being celebrated inside.