Layers and proportions key themes in Paris

Show-stoppers included Britain's John Galliano, paying homage to Napoleon Bonaparte, and Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci synthesis of wide ranging influences incorporating rocker Axl Rose, Latino homeboys and the Arab street.

Shorts won out over pants and big basketball shoes and gladiator sandals in gold and silver lame established themselves as next summer's footwear of choice.

Galliano's show conjured a cast of Napoleonic characters, including the emperor himself, looking pallid but proud in flowing black- and jewel-toned sashes, and Bonaparte's soldiers, in desert-ready military uniforms embellished with Oriental details from their North African campaigns.

Star pieces included a pair of low rise harem shorts covered in disco ball mirrors, a smart, three-piece suit topped with a swath of ripped tulle and a muscle-bound Tarzan in underwear and a leopard-skin headdress.

Applause echoed off the concrete walls of the abandoned, graffiti-covered swimming pool where the show was held as Galliano dressed as a modern-day Napoleon swooped down upon the catwalk for a final spin.

Tisci's show for Givenchy received hoots of approval with models dressed in keffiyah-print zippered hoodies and red plaid button-down shirts scintillating with star-shaped golden studs.

"It's a Latino boy in Morocco, Tunisia, these countries ... with more gymnasium, more suits like people want from Givenchy ... and then there was an homage to Michael Jackson -- I was working on his suits -- and to Axl Rose from Guns N' Roses with all the checkered shirts," Tisci told The Associated Press.

Designer Kris Van Assche layered calf-skimming shorts over leggings. He piled on sleeveless vests over long tank tops in gauzy knits and featherweight salwar kameezes -- commonly worn by men in Central and South Asia -- peeked out from beneath shimmering gray blazers.

"It's all about mixity," said Van Assche. "I've been traveling to Morocco, I've been traveling to Peru and wherever and the things that I really enjoy -- and even enjoy in New York, walking in the streets -- is when you have these layers that look like you just did it thoughtlessly, with no reflection."

The collection -- mostly in a minimalist palette of blacks, whites and grays -- was called "dissonance" after "rhythms that don't really belong together but in the end give a nice result," Van Assche said. Such dissonance "creates an accident, and this accident is beautiful," said the Belgian designer.

American designer Rick Owens also bet on layering, sending out a collection of dark and difficult pieces that are sure to please his legion of cult followers.

Owens stuck to his signature look, sending out models in drop-crotched, calf-skimming shorts topped with asymmetrical skirts and translucent tunic jerseys and distressed leather jackets crisscrossed by zippers.

Models skulked the catwalk inside a vast, under-lit stadium that had the feel of a cave wearing moonboots with added leather fins for extra volume.

Rosemary Rodriguez designing for Thierry Mugler channeled "Miami Vice" with a vibrant, '80's-inspired show aimed at men with attitude enough to wear pink.

"It's about classics with a twist, preppy basics with pimpy touch," Rodriguez said.

The Paris menswear shows move into the third of four days Saturday with displays by luxury labels Kenzo and Hermes.