Center Show Is Runway Hit : 5,000 Attend Fashion Benefit That Raises About $150,000

With his “feel-good” theme, Carlton Burnett sent the spirits of about 5,000 spectators soaring on Friday when he produced and directed the third annual Center of Fashion at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. It was a knockout.

Staged by the Guilds of the Center, the event raised about $150,000 for the Center’s operating costs.

From the moment the curtain rose on the event (co-sponsored by South Coast Plaza and Newport Center Fashion Island), guests at afternoon and evening performances knew they were in for an upbeat, Big-Apple kind of treat. On view in the first scenes: a Manhattan skyline that zeroed in on “42nd Street” and a posh hotel lobby--the Plaza, perhaps?

Before the production was over, guests had seen everything from a lively brothel (in an excerpt from “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”) to a serene cathedral (St. Patrick’s?), its towering walls studded with stained-glass.

And these were only the backdrops. The stars were the 140 stunning models--some pro, some amateurs culled from the Guilds’ 3,000-strong membership--displaying the last word in millions of dollars worth of fashion.

“I spent 10 days in New York before I planned the show,” Burnett said during the cast party that followed the evening performance. “And everything I saw depressed me except theater. So I decided to give our audience Broadway, a chance to feel good . I think it was our best show so far.”

No doubt about it. It was hard to tell the amateurs from the professionals on the spotlighted ramp in Segerstrom Hall. And anybody who had any doubt about what’s hot (and not) for fall, need have looked no further than Friday’s shows. On view: siren-red, loads of it, from Saks Fifth Avenue, glitzed-out Western duds from Giorgio of Beverly Hills and Jakeez, a riot of plaid from Escada, ‘80s-style glamour-gowns from Mi Place and Linda Bentley, and pearl-encrusted “I do”-wear from the Bride.

Sartorial musts for fall included accessories of leopard and leather, a see-through lace chemise, and a long and narrow slit skirt.

The event’s showstopper: romantic gowns showcased by featured Los Angeles designer Kevan Hall, who has whipped up unforgettable silhouettes for such stars as Natalie Cole.

One of his creations, a shocking-yellow formal, was displayed on a model who sat upon a silver star suspended from the ceiling.

During intermission at the evening event, Center President Thomas Kendrick told the crowd how much he enjoyed the show’s excerpt from “Guys and Dolls” (specifically, the number “Luck, Be a Lady Tonight”).

“As I watched the girls . . . er, I mean Guilds version, I was thinking how very lucky the Center is to have the Guilds. Over the years they have raised $5.5 million for the Center. . . . They’re the heart of the community.”

At the cast party--a private get-together for models, show patrons and organizers--guests dined on fare from local restaurants, sipped champagne and danced under leafy trees strung with 1,000 twinkle lights. “Time to take our shoes off and relax,” said Guild member Nola Schneer. And they did.

Among party guests: Center of Fashion co-chairwomen Cindy Boragno and Nancy Scharf; Guilds chairwoman Fiona Petersen; Guilds founder Georgia Spooner, the show’s honorary chairwoman; and cast party chairwoman Shari Esayian.

Other stores featured at the event, partly underwritten by Mazda Motor of America Inc., were Polo Ralph Lauren, My Girl, Liz Claiborne, Modasport, Out of Santa Fe, Mondi, Barneys New York, I. Magnin, Posh, Armoire, Emporio Armani, A’Marees and Alex Sebastian.

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The invitations are in the mail: Heiress Joan Irvine Smith has sent out invitations to a reception celebrating the broadcast premiere on Oct. 18 of “Nature’s Most Precious Resource,” a three-part KOCE documentary about Orange County water. The party will be Oct. 8 at Fluor Corp. in Irvine. Annually, Smith stages her spring Oaks Classic horse-jumping competition to benefit the National Water Research Institute. . . .

A photograph of the renovated Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana graces the invitation to the gala, black-tie reopening of the museum on Oct. 16 in the Leo Freedman Foundation Galleria. On view at the event will be the exhibitions Tribute to the Gods: Treasures of Museo del Oro, Masterpieces of the Chang Foundation, Taipei, and masterworks of the Bowers permanent collection. . . .