PARIS, Oct 4, 2002/ --- Always be wary of shows in which bells are clanging.

It generally doesn't bode well.

Yet at Undercover Wednesday evening, amid the references to destruction and survival, a sweet poetry scented the apocalyptic air.

The first model down the floor level runway with face hidden under a hooded yashmak top wore a tunic coat embroidered with shreds of fabric, underneath which were skinny jeans that looked ripped but were in fact covered in appliqued patches attached with multicolored basting stitches.

As model after model marched by with Indian beads in her hair and bangles smothering her arms from wrist to way above elbow, slowly something about what they were wearing began to make sense.

Looking beyond all the layering and complicated proportions were some impressive clothes.

Undercover designer Jun Takahashi's appliqued pants were works of art, and a perfectly pin tucked and pleated little black dress might suddenly and unexpectedly appear tied around a waist.

Even initially sloppy capes and tunics were beautiful when seen up close with a myriad of knit stitches and textural effects.

A recurring motif was a sleeve folded back on itself a couple of times and used to outline a jacket armhole and underline a bust.

And colored treads fluttered sweetly from pretty much everything.

With a casual accessory such as a teddy bear with a screw through its head this was by no means a fashion-lite show.

And a finale of models decked out in brightly colored transparent burkhas printed with flowers may mark out Takahashi as a designer with a political story to tell, along the lines of Miguel Adrover.