'Watch the holes'! Paris fashion crowd gets to know building sites

The appeal was evident again during the just-concluded Paris Men's Fashion Week, where designers sought out stripped-back buildings to showcase their creations. The lower rental prices compared with a plush hotel or cultural venue might also explain their popularity at a time when the industry has been struggling with reduced demand. "There has been a real trend in recent years towards using raw venues where there are only the load-bearing walls and nothing else," Rod Reynolds, a location scout from the Records Collection company, told AFP.