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 lam� T-shirts worn beneath transparent black shirts, a mauve sweater entwined with ebony plastic appliqu�, 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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