Madonnas Mug for Mugler
Paris fashion designer Thierry Mugler is in town looking for “Hollywood madonnas”--not to model in his next fashion show but to pose in a photography book he’s putting together. He’s been touring the world for the past nine years, taking fashion pictures. The upcoming Hollywood sequence will be set in White Sands, N.M., where Mugler will go with his cast of “madonnas,” his crew, cameras and clothing by several French designers. As for the book, “Thierry Mugler, Photographer,” he says Rizzoli will publish it next spring.
In Beverly Hills With Style
A new “Shampoo”? We’ve learned that Debbie Allen wants to film a television show in the Beverly Hills Vidal Sassoon salon. The story line calls for Allen to ease her “depression” with a makeover. Lots of luck: Richard Pryor will play the hairdresser, according to the salon. In real life, Allen turns to Sassoon stylist Aitch (as in “H”) Peters when her locks need lifting.
Who’s Got the Buttons?
Nordstrom’s South Bay store sold out; there are only two packs left in Glendale and the Westside branch has three boxes remaining. We’re talking buttons here, folks. Bright, primary-color buttons almost three inches in diameter, priced at $8 each and sold singly or in packs of 10. They’re by Paris-based Patrick Kelly and are probably the hottest accessory in our town. Listen has noticed men and women with button-laden bodices, lapels perked with buttons and shirts sparked with buttons at all the hot spots and watering holes we’ve traveled to. One woman, spotted in Saks this week, wore a simple black suit with Kelly’s big, bright buttons pinned all over the jacket front. She, too, bought them in Nordstrom’s Savvy department, she said. Why are so many people wearing simple button jewelry instead of glittery gems? When we called to find out, even the store’s experts said they were perplexed. “All we know is, buttons sell like hot cakes,” we were told.
Style Show on the Sidelines
The real action last Sunday during the Raiders-Chicago Bears football game at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum was on the sidelines. Midway through an otherwise dull second half, Listen saw Bruce Willis getting a Bear hug from Chicago quarterback Jim McMahon--a non-combatant due to a lingering hamstring injury. Both wore similar-looking long, black leather overcoats. But Willis opted for a belted version of McMahon’s more tailored number. Willis’ date (and wife) Demi Moore was spotted in blue jeans that flaunted the holes in the knees. McMahon’s coach/protagonist, Mike Ditka, directed the Bears’ 6-3 win sans sports coat--the better to highlight his loud, pink dress shirt. Jim Belushi showed his true colors too. He wore an off-the-rack Bears sweat shirt. Others prowling the sidelines included the Lakers’ Magic Johnson, baseball’s George Brett and long-time Raider fan James Garner. Adding to the day’s dreary weather--and drearier game--was the fact that most of the 78,000 in the stands wore the team color of both the Bears and the Raiders: black.
Christmas: A Slack Season
Listen knows what Michael Nader got for Christmas from his mother. “A pair of slacks,” the “Dynasty” regular says. He’s talking to us from Clacton & Frinton, the men’s shop on La Cienega Boulevard where he’s having his present altered so it will fit. Nader says he’s picked up two new suits while he’s been in the store, including one he’ll premiere on New Year’s Eve. It’s a ‘40s style, fitted through the waist, with broad shoulders, and he’s wearing it with a white shirt. Store owner Hilary Anderson adds that other stars have been out this shopping season to buy C&F; shirts. Allyce Beasley of “Moonlighting” and Danny DeVito walked off with the lion’s shares.
Getting a Leg Up on ’88
National know-it-all Eleanor Lambert recently polled a number of designers for views of 1988. According to Lambert’s sampling, Adolfo hopes both skirts and the stock market will rise. Gene Ewing of Bis says that “1988 will be the year of the leg.” But, heaven help us, Ewing also thinks, “Everyone will try to look like the ‘60s and Jackie Kennedy in a pill-box hat and short dress.” Never mind. Michael Kors takes a different tack: “It won’t be a nostalgic year. There’s no way women are going to go backwards with so much to put right.”
Dressed for Danger
Break a leg? Not yet. But actor Eugene Williams has broken a couple of toes and has been stranded in icy water while learning to do the stunts for a new TV series, “High Mountain Rangers.” Williams and fellow stars Robert Conrad and Conrad’s two real-life sons, Christian and Shane, perform their own action scenes in the show, Williams says. He’s had a number of rough rides--on motorcycles, dirt bikes, speed boats that sink and helicopters he’s had to jump out of. But at least he’s stylishly dressed. He and the other rangers wear a snazzy uniform--bomber jackets, riding britches and knee-high elkskin boots; or white ski suits, high white boots and white leather gauntlets for snow scenes in the Sierras.
He’ll Sleep on It
Bob Mackie, best known for the fantasy costumes he’s created for Cher, Juliet Prowse, Bernadette Peters and other stars, says he’s sketching a new collection of sleepwear he’ll introduce in March, along with his latest ready-to-wear line. It’s a joint venture with Blanche Lingerie of New York, and the price range will be moderate. “Nothing higher than around $100,” Mackie tells Listen.
Hot Topics
Among the fascinating items in our mail this week is a tidbit from a New York public relations firm. It informs us that Joan Kron, editor in chief of Avenue magazine (“avidly read by business and cultural leaders”), is following her instincts for 1988. Among other things, they tell her that men will wear beards at their own risk. According to Kron, fewer than 10 CEOs on the Fortune 500 list have them. “Judge Bork had a beard, and we all know what happened to him,” she adds as her punch line. The instinct list ends with a real puzzler: “This year’s favorite game? Discovering fun things to heat in your microwave other than food.” What could they possibly be? Slippers on a cold morning?
Pregnant Suggestions
There’s obviously a fashion look that actor Beau Bridges likes. He did some Christmas shopping at the Koala Blue store on Melrose Avenue and chose ruffled miniskirts. One was a black-and-white puckered cotton, another featured dots and stripes along with the ruffles. Bridges spent about an hour, according to a store spokesperson, creating the total look. He added leggings and coordinated tops, including a snazzy sweater with black sleeves and an Australian-inspired design everywhere else. Then it was off to the children’s section, where Bridges, narrator of a videocassette called “Creative Parenting: The First 12 Months,” picked out something for a toddler.
