And the Top Designer for the Oscars...

And the Top Designer for the Oscars Is . . .

Who will be wearing what to the Academy Awards on Monday night is as hush-hush as the contents of those envelopes. But Listen has been told this: Sophia Loren will be in a special gown created by Valentino. Madonna will be dressed (more or less) by Bob Mackie. The Giorgio Armani camp will include Jodie Foster, Kevin and Cindy Costner, Billy Crystal, Denzel Washington, Martin Scorsese and Mary McDonnell. The designer of choice for Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges and Dolph Lundgren will be Gianni Versace. There is absolutely no word--for security reasons--on the precious gems stars might borrow for the night from jewelers like Harry Winston and Van Cleef & Arpels.

ENSHRINED: With so many clients set to cruise the red carpet at the Shrine Auditorium on Oscar night, Italy’s Mr. Mild and Mr. Wild are in town to make sure every bugle bead is in place. Mr. Mild, Giorgio Armani, and his muse, Gabriella Forte, arrived Thursday for the American Cinematheque Ball honoring his pal Martin Scorsese. While in town, Armani plans to attend the Academy Awards ceremony. Mr. Wild, Gianni Versace, is holed up in a Beverly Hills Hotel bungalow for a “much needed vacation,” says his publicist, Julie Mannion. As to whether he will attend the Oscars, he remains a definite maybe.

MORALE MAKEOVER: If Beverly Hills makeup maven and “infomercial” queen Victoria Jackson mentions she’s going to the Sybil Brand Institute for Women, don’t panic. For the past six months Jackson has been giving makeup tips and orchestrating make-overs for some of the prison’s inmates. “It’s not just about how to put on mascara,” she says. “A lot of these women have never used makeup before.” For the past year Jackson has also been teaching makeup techniques to cancer patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “Women who are in jail or going through cancer treatments are at a real low point. I try to give them some sense of control.”

OLD BLUE EYES: Remember the frosted blue eye shadow craze of the ‘70s? Like everything old gone new again, frosted eyes are back. They’ve been spotted in the fashion magazines and trend-setter Paula Abdul has icy blue lids in her new Diet Coke TV commercial. But don’t expect everyone to embrace the return of retro makeup. Paula Begoun gave Listen an earful from her Seattle office. She stands by the opinion she voiced in her 1988 beauty book, “Blue Eyeshadow Should Still Be Illegal” (Beginning Press, $8.95). “Tacky--that’s an understatement,” she says of the blue-hue revival. “It’s too colorful and distracting, and it looks sooooo made up.”