PARIS, Jan 27, 2006/ FW/ --- Even if the venue for Petar Petrov’s show translates as, ‘The Red Carpet’, after the glamour of Haute Couture and the elegant looks of Milan’s menswear, the gritty quarter of Paris (yes, Paris can do gritty also) left one feeling slightly disorientated at the opening of the week by what was something akin to culture shock.

Gone were the black Mercedes limousines and the paparazzi and in some ways it was nice to get back to normal – not that there is anything normal about fashion week!

The collection itself fitted in to the general feel of the setting with looks that were more urban than urbane, more raw than sophisticated.

This was the sentiment right from the off with a simple cotton suit realised in a washed out purple color that followed on from Milan, but whereas there only satin would do for the lapel trimming, here the same effect was achieved with what looked like plastic. The eveningwear reference was the same but the result was sooner Bladerunner than black-tie.

The same material was used for the lattice detailing of a grey woollen bomber jacket, the faded black denim jeans being slim but not as constricting as we have seen elsewhere recently. This was a typical silhouette as heavy knit jumpers, worn with braces, provided bulky torsos that gave an inner-city chic.

Hooded tops and polo-necks were very much in evidence with zips being the main element of detailing. These would, for example, run in parallels down the length of the body or open at the shoulder to reveal flaps.

This was a world away from the refined nature of the current Milanese look but elements could do very well on the tough city streets.