All Quacky for Cheerleaders

Cheerleaders are rare in professional ice hockey. Ice-skating cheerleaders, unheard of.

So imagine our surprise when we bumped into the figure-skating cheerleaders for Disney’s Mighty Ducks practicing at the Culver City Ice Arena this week. What a wholesome contrast to the game’s occasional slug fests, we thought. Wonder what they’ll wear?

“Uh, I can’t tell you anything about the Decoys,” said a young woman in the Anaheim team’s marketing department.

“I can’t answer that,” said the team publicist. “They’re still in formation. It’s very top secret.”

For the legions of hockey fans who also read fashion columns, here’s what you can expect: Handsome, cleft-chinned boys and slender, graceful girls dancing to songs from “Beauty and the Beast”; sneering looks from hulking hockey players; adoring fans who live for the Ducks’ halftime shows.

We Want Our HDTV: Starting in January, L.A.’s fashionable crowd can watch the French haute couture collections without leaving town. A company called Paris Fashions Showcase will broadcast the shows via high-definition television to theater-size screens in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

Who’s going to pay $500 a day ($350 per evening show) to see extravagantly expensive--some say outdated--one-of-a-kind designs? “Select American media and industry representatives,” says Jacques Mouclier, president of the Federation Francaise de la Couture.

It’s just a matter of time until New York designers jump on the HDTV bandwagon, says Stan Herman, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. “We didn’t have time to do it for the spring shows,” he says, “but I’m sure it’s something we will do.”

For information or to order tickets for the Paris haute couture broadcasts, call (800) 887-1122.

The Blow-Drying Edge: As if flawless bone structure isn’t enough, model Lauren Hutton has lots of thick, wavy hair too. So says the man who styled it several times in Los Angeles this week for a slew of her personal appearances, power lunches and satellite interviews.

Laurence Roberts, who averages 17 cut-and-blow-dry’s a day at Umberto on a clientele he describes as “Beverly Hills society,” has been blowing Hutton’s collar-bone-length hair straight and placing a few rollers on top to give her “something to run her hands through.” The model, who is featured on the cover of Mirabella this month, looks stunning in a robe, straight from her shower, Roberts says.

Heaven knows, that’s not easy, as anyone who’s caught Victoria Principal’s infomercial can testify.

Star Search: Until Tuesday, the upcoming Bullock’s/Macy’s Passport show at the Universal Amphitheatre was at risk of being declared a celebrity-free zone. Although the fashion show benefits the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation--and Taylor is the event’s celebrity chair--the actress planned to be out of the country for the Oct. 12 show.

Then, magically, Taylor’s schedule opened up this week, thrilling organizers. A big-name celebrity, one observer notes, is critical for selling tickets and drawing other celebrities. “In the celebrity game, you go for a certain name. If it’s Liz, then you get the friends of Liz. But if it’s Fabio, well . . . “

Tickets are available through the Amphitheatre box office.

Justify My Popularity: Madonna’s last tour launched dozens of fashion trends, like frankly fake hairpieces and hard-as-nails bustiers. But with her star in decline, we wonder if the Dolce & Gabbana wardrobe designed for the singer’s Girlie Show tour will have the same effect.

We tried to get into Madonna’s full-dress rehearsal at Sony Studios before the tour kicked off Sept. 25 in London, but were told, basically, no way. The costumes look far too theatrical to be copied anywhere but Vegas, the exception being a dandy get-up that features a full black skirt and top hat--more Dolce & Gabbana than Madonna.

Cabin Fever: Nestled close to the beautiful 405 Freeway in West Los Angeles is a little slice of sporting-goods heaven called Adventure 16. The decor is a Hemingway dream come true--plaid flannel blankets, vintage trunks, an antique stove and a cozy spot for perusing maps of wilderness trails. Virile rock-climbing types test hiking boots on fake inclines. Beleaguered moms outfit their kids for school camping trip. (“I don’t know what the altitude is--I just signed the papers.”)

We fought the urge to buy the great Patagonia jackets or the sturdy butt-hugging climbing pants. After all, who are we kidding? We did, however, take home a box of cedar incense, which burns away in its little clay log cabin. Ah, the great outdoors.

A Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Spandex: What is it about Halloween that turns a normally sane, self-protective mother into a masochist? Recognize yourself? Then march over to the fabric store and purchase Simplicity pattern No. 8646 ($7.95), a sewer’s guide to turning boys or girls into tiny Elvises. The pattern calls for several yards of shiny, pricey spandex--white, of course--and a laundry list of trims. Oh, and a kid with a sense of humor.

Inside Out is published Fridays.