Designing for the Gold
Wedding gown designer Vera Wang, once a competitive skater, is entering a new arena--the ice skating rink. She just stitched up several outfits for Nancy Kerrigan, an award winner in the National Figure Skating Championships and a member of the U.S. Olympic team competing in Albertville, France. Kerrigan took two Wang originals with her: a chartreuse dress with long, sheer sleeves and embroidered bodice and a white outfit with sheer yoke and sleeves.
* NOT COMING OUT: The La Jolla Debutantes are hanging up their white gloves for a year. The organizers of one of the Southland’s oldest deb balls are canceling this year’s festivities because of lack of lucre. More than 100 girls were invited to take their bows, but only four accepted. Dona Whitaker, who would have been chairwoman of this year’s event, blamed the lack of interest on the recession. “We got letters from parents saying that they just couldn’t afford it,” she said.
* IT’S NOT IN THE MAIL: Don’t blame your mail carrier if you haven’t received your Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. The annual skin and spandex-fest is usually published early in February, but this year Olympic coverage takes precedence. The SI folks say March 4 is D-cup Day for their “travel and fashion spectacular” to hit the newsstands; home delivery will follow.
* NOT QE2: Bob Mackie, designer to the stars, finally gets to outfit a queen--albeit one from Texas. Mackie designed a white-and-silver brocade cape with gold and jet beads for the Mardi Gras festivities that begin Feb. 22 in Galveston. The cape, to be worn by Ellie Peters of Houston, the queen of the Knights of Mombus, is worth a regal $20,000. Mackie, who may already be practicing his royal wave for his float ride, will serve as the honorary grand marshal of a parade on Feb. 29.
* COLLECTORS WON, PRESERVATIONISTS NAUGHT: More Hollywood history goes on the auction block Saturday at Paramount Studios. Collectors will be thrilled to note more than 75 costumes, including designs by Edith Head and gowns worn by Mia Farrow in “The Great Gatsby” and Dorothy Lamour in “Road to Utopia.” Meanwhile, actress Debbie Reynolds has been checking out Branson, Mo., as a site for permanent display of her own costume collection. But a spokesperson for Reynolds says she has made no commitments.
* KNOTTY BUSINESS DEALS: Actress-restaurateur Mariel Hemingway has a new entry on her resume. She is flogging Paul Mitchell hair-care products. Just so happens that John Paul Jones De Joria, owner of the shampoo company, is also an investor in Hemingway’s restaurants. Another celebrity sales rep to watch for is Catherine Deneuve, the face of record for the new Yves Saint Laurent skin-care line, Precurseur de Beute. By way of connection: She can usually be found among the ranks of Saint Laurent loyalists seated in the front row at his fashion shows. And uber -model Christy Turlington has signed an exclusive contract with Maybelline cosmetics.
