BY DESIGN : FASHIONABLE FURNISHINGS : The Shining : Seeking clothes and furniture that reflect well on you? Then go for the silver. The metallic look is showing up in everything from skirts to jackets to lamps.

This season, gold looks old.

Designers who want a metallic sheen are turning to silver, preferably in a flat, matte finish.

Isaac Mizrahi did platinum sandals (pictured on Page E1, at I. Magnin, Beverly Hills.)

Vuarnet did sunglasses (pictured, at Sunglass Hut).

And Los Angeles’ Maggie Barry and her partner, Ty Moore, who do the Van Buren clothing line, used matte silver spandex and leather for their summer pants, shorts, cropped tops (pictured, at Nordstrom) and short-sleeved motorcycle jackets.

“Silver is a pleasant reflective color that’s flattering to the skin,” Barry says. And it makes her “think of spaceships.”

Another L.A. designer, Katayone Adeli, chose silver silk charmeuse for a long skirt (pictured, at Bullock’s) in her collection, called Parallel, because it’s young, fresh and very clean.

“Silver has a new low-punk feel to it,” she says. “It’s very modern.”

Peter Lewis, owner of Firenze Designs in Santa Barbara, says we were way overdue for a little excitement.

“With all the somber colors of the early ‘90s, brights and metallics are refreshing novelties,” he says.

Firenze introduced a sleeveless leather motorcycle jacket (pictured, at Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills) among its sportswear for spring, and silver will also have a place in the fall collection.

The futuristic look also appeals to furniture designers.

John Hutton, who creates furnishings for Donghia (to the trade only, (800) 366-4442), in the Pacific Design Center, did a “flute” chair, “Madrid” occasional table and “Rafaela” lamp (pictured) in shades of platinum. And Ali Acerol dipped his decorative fruit in it.

Says the showroom’s Sherri Donghia: “Silver furnishings reflect the room like a mirror. It’s friendly but elegant--not screaming like gold.”