LookWest Turns a Few Heads
The Fashion Group of Los Angeles hopes to call attention to local talent when it showcases nine areas of L.A. design in one grand-scale fund-raising gala, “LookWest ‘91,” Sept. 24. Honorees for the $75-per-ticket affair include such international trend-setters as David Hockney, restaurateur Wolfgang Puck and wife Barbara Lazaroff, architect Jon Jerde, graphic designer April Greiman, advertising mogul Jay Chiat, fashion photographer Philip Dixon, and a mystery honoree in the field of entertainment. Expect to see the clothing designs of a record number of L.A. talents--close to 150--in a mega-fashion show previewing spring ’91. Proceeds will benefit the Rudi Gernreich scholarship fund. For details, call (818) 985-5477.
PROTECTIVE COLORING: Listen received an update on Mary Rimdzius, who escaped from Kuwait after she dyed her California blond locks a deep shade of Bedouin brunette with India ink and a dark brown tint, slipped into long robes and crossed the border. Rimdzius, who is staying in Long Beach with her daughter, was anxious to get back to her blond roots. After six hours of retinting and highlighting at Bezzetti’s Master Colorists in Beverly Hills, Rimdzius’ tresses were restored free of charge.
WHO ARE THOSE MASKED PEOPLE?: Grace Jones, Barbara Carrera, Janet Leigh, Cicely Tyson and Ozzy Osbourne were the odd fellows behind the facial masks recently at the Georgette Klinger Salon on Rodeo Drive. They all dropped in to try Klinger’s new treatment, Line Solution Facial.
TAILORED FILMMAKING: Giorgio Armani and Martin Scorsese will close the Venice Film Festival Sept. 15 with “Made in Milan,” the lastest Armani/Scorsese collaboration. The 26-minute documentary is about Armani and his fashion business. The film was written by Jay Cocks, former film critic for Time magazine, and filmed by cinematographer Nestor Almendros. Armani does the narration. “Made in Milan” will be released in the United States at the end of October.
A BUSH IN THE BIZ: If you think buying clothes is sheer material expression, you haven’t purchased anything with the Karitas label in it. The collection is a project of the Karitas Foundation, a nonprofit organization that benefits children. And the force behind it is one of President George Bush’s daughters-in-law, Sharon Bush. (She’s married to Bush’s son Neil.) She’s coordinating efforts to raise money for homeless and abused children through the sale of clothing manufactured for the label by Bull Frog and Gund, among others. Look for the Karitas label at Nordstrom, Sears and J.C. Penney stores.
HOT ROCK WEAR: We haven’t seen the clothes yet, but we like the name: Red Rocker Hyper-Active Wear. The man behind the catchy label is Sammy Hagar, lead singer of the heavy-metal group, Van Halen. His “loose, fun, casual” clothing for men (cloned from his own stage wardrobe) will be introduced Sept. 18-20 at the Action Sports Retailer Convention in San Diego. If all goes as planned, the “moderately priced” Red Rocker line will be in stores by mid-November.
MODELING MATILDA: Olivia Newton-John and Pat Farrar, co-owners of 13 Koala Blue boutiques (the other 45 are licensed), will come out of the fashion closet this fall to appear in ads and catalogues for the company. This is the first time in the five-year history of the Van Nuys-based concern that the duo has gone visual with their line. Gloria Teague, chief executive for Koala Blue, says Newton-John and Farrar, both in their early 40s, “should be very effective, because they’re our customer.”
POLO AND AUTOS: Ralph Lauren came up with another winner recently, only this was one he didn’t design. His 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic (a car) took the Best of Show Award at the 40th Annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (a car show). Knowing Lauren’s penchant for infusing Americana into his clothing line, Listen won’t be the least bit surprised if the Ralph Lauren models are wearing long travel dusters and goggles on the runways next season. DO NOT CROSS: David Quirk, an enterprising fashion design student at Iowa State University, has developed a line of clothing made entirely of orange plastic police barricade tape. Quirk says the folks in Aimes, Iowa, don’t appreciate the nuances of his designs and mistake him for a traffic cop whenever he wears his special suit. So he sent photos of his creations to some of his favorite people--Arsenio Hall, novelist/screenwriter Hanif Kureishi and MTV’s Downtown Julie Brown to name a few--hoping they would understand his sartorial vision. But it may even be too much for the hipsters. Arsenio Hall’s wardrobe person liked the all-plastic-tape suit, but the star passed on it. Julie Brown’s only response was an autographed picture of herself.
