MTV INSPIRED: WHAT’S NEXT?

The latest fashion action for MTV musicians is bound to spin off trends. A few new ones seemed headed that way straight from the MTV Music Video Awards show that aired this month:

* Beyond track suits. Rap group C+C Music Factory is a bellwether; their way is toward more glamour and more classics in rap wear.

* Cartoon-color suits. Prince’s band wore multicolored asymmetrical suits. So did Color Me Bad, along with a number of men in the audience.

* Anti-fashion. Will metal fans follow Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses and Tommy Hagar of Van Halen into the mainstream mad-for-plaid camp? Rose’s plaid kilt, Hagar’s suburbanite plaid Bermudas could lead the way.

* Sparkle plenty. Look for multicolored paillettes, especially on tank dresses. One man took the idea to a logical extension by sewing CDs on his black leather jacket.

* The rain man cometh. Get set for a downpour of rainwear. Rappers have been wearing it in their videos. Now Arsenio Hall is into it too, starting with the oversized rain boots he wore to host the show.

* S&M.; Cher’s new dominatrix leather outfit, designed by Maggie Barry and Stephen Walker of Van Buren, is the “Barbarella” look--sexy, hard-edged, space-aged.

* Heads up. The newest headgear is the “do rag,” which a member of Prince’s entourage describes as a piece of fabric that holds your “do” together, like the original Aunt Jemima’s.