It’s getting so you can’t open a...
It’s getting so you can’t open a fashion catalogue anymore without coming across at least one famous face among the models. So it was with the new Nike active sportswear catalogue, Athletics West, that came in the mail the other day. There were Alberto Salazar, Mary Decker Slaney, Joan Benoit, a whole slew of track and field stars posing in shiny warm-up suits, running shorts, bold-colored athlete’s tights. The works. Turns out Nike gives the jocks credit for participating in the design of the clothes. “They tried out prototypes while they were in training, and got back to Nike about what they liked and what they would like to change,” we hear from Stephen Moore of Hill & Knowlton, who sent us the catalogue in the first place. Instead of a typical fashion show to introduce the collection, Moore says, “the athletes are wearing the line when they compete.”
Larry Hagman checked off his Christmas gift list with handmade jewelry by Martin & Lucia, including a necklace called “hear them laughing,” made of antique Chinese bells and bone. Judy Walker, who owns the Tops boutique in Malibu, says Hagman’s wife, Maj, also bought a hand-woven bomber jacket and lots of long woven scarfs. Walker says Hagman ended up buying two whimsical carved-wood mirrors by Taos artist Jim Wagner, one featuring rabbits, another cacti. Jennifer Jones Simon bought the same mirror but with a heart motif.
We’ve heard of precocious but now we know the definition. A 12-year-old Florida boy, Michael Sassoon, is going into business as a children’s clothing designer. Jerry Kritz, vice president of Sassoon Equities (parent company of the youngster’s new line), says Michael Sassoon children’s wear will be out in May. Kritz says the preteen, whose parents are designers David and Yolima Sassoon, was disgusted with the state of youthful fashion and took up the cause earlier this year. And Michael, in South America at the moment, won’t let his plans rest with fashion. Kritz says the boy will release his tribute to Vietnam War veterans, a single record called “Hey Bob,” in April.
It didn’t take long for sneaker maker Reebok to discover actress Cybill Shepherd is a boon to its cause. The comfort-minded star of “Moonlighting” frequently sports tennies on the set and came to the 1985 Emmy Awards in a black velvet evening dress with orange high-top Reeboks. Now Reebok has asked costume designer Robert Turturice, a frequent Shepherd designer, to create fancy sneakers especially for the actress. The result: two pairs of Cybill-inspired sneaks. One, a classic Reebok covered in bugle beads; the other, embroidered with jet and crystal. We haven’t seen them yet, but we’ll keep our eyes to the ground.
‘Darling,”Zsa Zsa Gabor told Sherman Oaks menswear designer Rick Pallack, “you have the best sweaters in town.” And to prove the point she bought 11 oversize knits, including a leather-and-suede-trimmed jacket to wear “when she rides her beautiful horse.” Once outfitted, Gabor turned to the selection of Christmas gifts. Pallack tells Listen one was for hairdresser Julius Bengtsson, who coifs Gabor when he’s not globe-trotting with Mrs. Reagan. The Sherman Oaks retailer’s clientele being what it is (a heavy percentage of celebrities), he says he’s supplied clothes for Smoky Robinson to wear on his new album cover; provided “Dallas” hunk Dack Rambo with the tuxedo he wore to the Carousel Ball in Denver, the premier of “Rocky IV” and the Hollywood Christmas Parade, for which Rambo added a pair of snake-textured suede gloves. Pallack also took care of Peter Holm prior to his wedding, providing Joan Collins’ bridegroom with the white tux shirt, pink silk handkerchief and bow tie he wore for the occasion. “Joan’s favorite color is peach,” Pallack notes, “but I don’t recommend it for a formal occasion. I don’t think it’s dressy enough.”
