Murphy Brown Hoops It Up

Will women continue to follow Candice Bergen’s fashion lead when she appears on “Murphy Brown” dressed as a lavender lampshade? In the two-part season finale (Monday nights at 9 on CBS), Bergen, who often wears Donna Karan clothes on the series, is decked out as an antebellum bridesmaid for the wedding of Faith Ford (Corky Sherwood). Bill Hargate, the show’s celebrated costumer, designed the five bridesmaid’s hoop-skirted, triple-tiered, lace-trimmed confections to reflect Corky’s Southern roots. “We had to rehearse with the hoops so they could get used to wearing them,” Hargate said. “You forget how much room they really take. We had to rearrange some furniture a couple of times.”

* SUN-SENSITIVE: Estee Lauder’s Baby Sun, a PABA-free sunscreen for infants that has an SPF (sun protection factor) of 30, debuts later this month. The product evolved from a request from Estee Lauder’s grandson, William, according to Ida Stewart, vice president of Estee Lauder. William recalls having to wear a hat, a long-sleeved shirt and pants to protect himself from the sun. He asked his grandmother to create a product so his children could run unfettered in the sunshine.

* CAFE SOCIETY: The NBC miniseries “People Like Us” (airing May 13 and 14), adapted from Dominick Dunne’s novel about New York’s high-society set, is a study in style, from the old money elegance of Carolina Herrera, Gianfranco Ferre and Carolyne Roehm for Eva Marie Saint’s character to the modern flair of Valentino, Escada and Isaac Mizrahi for the nouveau nob played by Connie Selleca. Most everything, reports costume designer Buffy Snyder, came off the rack from Saks Fifth Avenue, Bullock’s, I. Magnin and Barneys New York, including sale-priced Donna Karan blazers, Christian Lacroix accessories and assorted scarfs, which Snyder made into sarong skirts and bandeau tops for the fashion show segment. But Ben Gazzara and other leading men are likely to be wearing just one name: Nino Cerruti.

* RODEO COME LATELY: Is Rodeo Drive passe? “Absolutely not,” huffed French designer Bernard Perris (sounds like Paris ), who was there last week for the official opening of a new Rodeo Collection boutique featuring “the total look” of his creations. The small, three-shades-of-gray Perris boutique is owned by Gloria Blackburn, who also owns Jean Claude Jitrois, also on Rodeo Drive. Perris agreed on a business relationship with Blackburn because he likes her style. Not only is she “a tall, beautiful blonde who wears Perris tremendously well,” she’s “a career woman. That’s what fascinated me. She’s made her own success.” After she saw the Perris boutique in New York, she decided she wanted one just like it on Rodeo Drive. “It’s still the avenue on the West Coast,” said Perris.

* GRAY FLANNEL SUIT: For once, the man behind the fashion shoot is going to show the world what he wears. Matthew Rolston, the celebrity portraitist whose photos appear regularly on the covers of Vanity Fair, Harpers Bazaar, Interview and L.A. Style, takes the stage himself at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre May 15 to talk about his work. His outfit, he says, will be the one he always wears after 5: a gray flannel suit and a white shirt. Jim McCreary, head of the L.A. chapter of Advertising Photographers of America, got Rolston this latest assignment. He’s fourth in an annual series, after Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz and Herb Ritts.

* OPENING DOORS: “I met him when he was working on ‘Evita.’ He told me when the right project came along, he’d call me,” says costume designer Marlene Stewart of her first encounter with director Oliver Stone. Stewart is costuming Stone’s current film based on the life of the Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors and a ‘60s rock icon. (Val Kilmer plays the lead.) “The ‘60s was a time of total freedom and experimentation. Fashion wasn’t just one look: It seemed to change with each person, with each year. The challenge is being able to capture the essence of what people were expressing about that revolutionary era through their clothes,” says Stewart.