By Timothy Hagy

PARIS, July 1, 2005 - While the tide is rising on Helmut Lang’s beach front property in the Hamptons (once bid upon by Jerry Seinfeld), and his Paris and New York boutiquea have been closed, Austrian fashion moves to a new generation of designers.

Petar Petrov, the twenty eight year old Vienna-based designer never makes a catwalk appearance, but his work speaks volumes about the way young men dress nowadays. His show staged on Friday packed heat - whether it be in gold lamé T-shirts worn beneath transparent black shirts, a mauve sweater entwined with ebony plastic appliqué, a series of tapered jackets, or a pair of shining rubber micro-shorts. Even a ho hum pin stripe suit was spiked up with a white plastic shirt, and a pair of Prince of Wales check trousers got lacquered.

Petrov’s style may be edgy and urban, but that’s where currents have moved.

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