Paris — It was not quite the return of the toga, but Spanish wunderkind Alejandro Gomez Palomo turned the fashion clock back 2,000 years at his Paris men's show Tuesday.

The flamboyant Andalusian conjured up Rome at its most decadent with a procession of beautiful boys who he claimed had just stepped from the frescos and mosaics of the lost city of Pompeii.

"Buried under the volcanic ashes of Mount Vesuvius lies a distant civilization of Palomo boys who for centuries have been subject to a deep lethargy," he declared.

Now they have come back to shake fashion from its long conformist sleep, he added, and to "become the man of the future".

Palomo believes pretty dresses are not just for girls and his clothes can be worn by men, women and everyone in between in.

And you could imagine Nero or the boy emperor Elgabulus fighting with Madonna, Beyonce and Miley Cyrus -- all fans of his Palomo Spain label -- for some of his new gladiator glam.

Watch out for versions of his centurion sandals, which strode a stylish line between sneaker boot and espadrille, in the shops next summer.

To the sound of imperial trumpets, he sent out his resurrected Roman dandies, socialites and emperors in clever and erudite clothes made from everything from jute to the flounciest feathers.

- Laurels in their hair -

A Roman general's armor was reimagined in dripping white Andalusian lace, legionnaires' helmets evoked in chin strap headbands, breastplates turned into vinyl corsets, and dance floor dandies wore leather laurel leaves in their hair.

Palomo's dive into Roman accessories -- armbands, torcs and chainmail -- was so deep, one model wore a golden nose similar to the solid gold hooter sported by the 7th-century Byzantine emperor Justinian II.

As for the toga, he took it on a wild bacchanalian dance from a relatively simple embroidered tunic to the glammiest of tulle feather-fringed evening dresses.

Despite their feminine line, Palomo insisted that his clothes are very much designed and tailored for men -- even if lots of women were now wearing them.

"I would never call them women's dresses or say they are for women," he told AFP. "Everything is for men."

The 27-year-old designer said he wanted to "liberate" men from the straitjacket of suit and trousers.

"It's great that women have helped get my clothes known, but I do not feel so qualified to design for them," he added. — AFP