Armani Edges Competition for Fashion Award

Oscar night is becoming a battle of the Italian fashion titans. Milanese designer Giorgio Armani, who has dressed the lion’s share of Hollywood stars for the show for the past few years, was given a run for his money this year by two fellow countrymen, Valentino and Gianni Versace.

To step up the competitive spirit even more, Armani attended the show while Versace, who had tickets, didn’t.

Armani was still the winner of the fashion Oscar this year, but mostly in the category of best-dressed actors, directors and producers. In the best-dressed actress category, the vote was split.

The tally:

Armani’s army included the “Wolves” pack: Kevin Costner and his wife, Cindy, and best supporting actress nominee Mary McDonnell, who was wearing a plain navy dress slit up the front to reveal matching shorts. Armani also dressed Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Kevin Kline, Martin Scorsese, Rob Reiner and Denzel Washington.

Valentino’s followers included Lorraine Bracco, Debra Winger, Nicole Kidman, Diandra Douglas and honorary Oscar winner Sophia Loren, who was wearing a black decollete sheath with cut-out lace and tiny paillettes that the designer made especially for her.

Though Versace only had a few celebrities, he had an attractive bunch, including Richard Gere’s girlfriend, model Cindy Crawford.

Besides the Italians, American designers were well represented.

Best actress award winner Kathy Bates wore a Jeff Billings simple black velvet dress with a tasteful amount of sparkle on the sleeves.

Madonna ordered a white gown from sequinmeister Bob Mackie to sing the nominated song “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)” from “Dick Tracy.” The dress, encrusted with diamonds and pearls, was a spitting image of the dress she wore on her current Vanity Fair magazine cover.

Veteran costume designer Nolan Miller dressed best supporting actress winner Whoopi Goldberg in black sequins. Goldberg’s choice of Miller might seem odd. The traditional Miller is known for designing clothes for the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and the cast of “Dynasty”--not the untraditional Goldberg. But Miller just finished Goldberg’s costume for her cameo role in the Sally Field film “Soapdish,” a comedy about soap operas.

Annette Bening, on the arm of Ed Begley Jr., chose her “Bugsy” costume designer Albert Wolsky to make her glittery champagne-colored gown, while Anne Archer called on her “Fatal Attraction” costumer Ellen Mirojnick to whip up her bronze strapless dress.

Best actress nominee Julia Roberts made up for last year’s lapse of fashion judgment by wearing a more flattering, albeit monastic dress by Los Angeles designer Richard Tyler. She surprised the crowd by appearing with a headful of new blond curls that could rival Madonna’s Monroe-like coif.

Best supporting actress nominee Diane Ladd also chose one of California’s best when she asked Eva Chun to design a white tuxedo dress for her. Last year’s best actress winner, Jessica Tandy, chose a tasteful black-and-silver dress from New York designer Pauline Trigere. Geoffrey Beene dressed Glenn Close in an ultra-simple blue-and-black sheath. New York designer Carolyne Roehm went in two directions, dressing Susan Sarandon in a pared-down red silk faille gown and Dianne Wiest in a luxurious gold-beaded lace suit.

Oscar night has always been known for its fashion triumphs and atrocities. Some, like newly blonde Geena Davis, always play the part of the glamorous movie star to the hilt and always look wonderful. And young stars Sofia Coppola and Phoebe Cates both did well by choosing demure Chanel frocks.

Anjelica Huston looked sensational in her Ruth Meyer-designed pink strapless sheath and black lace jacket.

Others, however, would have fared better if they’d been around in the ‘30s and ‘40s, when the studios had total control and told actresses how to dress and how not to dress for public functions.

Sally Kirkland, for example, wore a questionable purple sequin tube dress that threatened to expose all with any movement.

Jon Bon Jovi also tested the boundaries of bad taste with his purple crushed-velvet suit with leather lapels, which he changed out of before performing during the telecast. When asked where the purple suit came from, he smirked: “I bought it at K mart.”

Kim Basinger, who chose that batty one-shoulder number last year, redeemed herself--though just barely--with a pink ball gown that required an attendant to carry her train. Basinger, who got extra points for style with her Bardot hairdo, said the dress was designed by Mary Ellen Fields and Bill Hargate.

The most amusing moment was when Dustin Hoffman came through and was asked who designed his tux.

He shrugged.

“I don’t know. I rented it.”

Also contributing to this story was Linda Sweeten from The Times’ fashion staff.