Just Sign on the Dotted Line

The newest sign-up at the William Morris talent agency is the last guy you’d expect. Alexander Julian, fresh from his stint as costumer of “The Player,” can now say, “I’m doing lunch with my agent.” Reached at a farm in Connecticut where he was shopping for a horse, Julian said he needs a Hollywood rep because most packaging deals are made before he even hears about them. His Connecticut neighbors, Tom Cruise and Tim Robbins, may wear his clothes, but so far they haven’t been much help getting him a job. Julian also said he’ll launch a men’s couture collection this year. He’ll make an annual tour of cities including Los Angeles, with fabrics, a tailor and a fitter in tow. Details to be announced.

* KNOWN BY THE COMPANY THEY KEEP: You may not know their names, but you probably know their customers. Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, L.A. Clipper James Edwards and Washington Redskin Charles Mann have become loyal fans of the design team, Everett and Edwin Hall. The brothers have made custom clothes for Leonard et al. for several years. Now the duo that hails from Springfield, Ohio, is using sports connections to help launch a ready-to-wear label into better retail stores. Recently they persuaded Edwards and Mann to model in their fashion show, presented by Playboy magazine. South African leader Nelson Mandela, whom the brothers outfitted for his address to Congress in 1990, apparently was not available.

* CAT CHAT: TV Catwoman Julie Newmar chatted up Listen this week, and reminisced about her days as the feline felon. Although she is probably best remembered wearing her (pre-spandex) black rubber catsuit, she confessed it was the wardrobe for her alter ego, Miss Klutz the bag lady, that she enjoyed wearing the most. Not a catty word passed her lips though on the latest Catwoman--Michelle Pfeiffer. “Catwoman is a great part for a woman to play and Michelle Pfeiffer is a great woman to play it for the ‘90s,” she purred.

* JUST SAY YES: Seems actress Sela Ward is a walking example of ‘90s simplicity. “She doesn’t like flashy, expensive jewelry,” says Pepi Kelman, owner of Pepi in Beverly Hills. Kelman knows because she designed the charm-holding hoops the actress wears for her “Sisters” television role--and the engagement ring she received from developer Howard Sherman. The ring is a three-tier stack of pink, white and yellow-gold bands with diamonds “that are barely there,” Kelman says. But Ward’s answer to Sherman was definitely there. After he popped the question, she handed him a watch engraved with YES on the back.

* DUTCH TREAT: It was obvious from the turnout at Chateau Marmont this week that fashion designer Gregory Poe has managed to shake the somber image associated with his family name. Poe, who claims a bloodline to poet Edgar Allan Poe, recently returned from a 10-year hitch in Japan where he designed a collection of womenswear for Wacoal. The Chateau cocktail party was to introduce his first men’s collection, Dutch Courage. Among fashion peacocks in attendance: Andy Warhol’s gal pal Holly Woodlawn, actors Ian Buchanan and Nancye Ferguson (who star in the new David Lynch sitcom “On the Air”) and costume designer Marlene Stewart of “JFK” fame. “I guess it beats walking around naked,” commented Poe’s father, Edgar Douglas Poe, of the whimsical collection.