Expect Nothing but the Hippest From These Models
The Series: “Models Inc.” (Fox, Wednesdays at 9 p.m.)
The Setup: Hillary Michaels (Linda Gray) is de facto den mother and owner of Models Inc., a Los Angeles agency that represents a gaggle of pretty young things in this spinoff of “Melrose Place.”
The Costume Designer: Denise Wingate (for the first five episodes only), who also does “Melrose Place.” Her previous series include “Middle Ages” and “Shannon’s Deal.”
The Look: The latest fads, with spit and polish. That means blue jeans have been supplanted by such casual wear as slip dresses with baby T-shirts, hip-huggers, biker boots, apron dresses, ankle-grazing skirts, cropped tops and poor-boy sweaters. Unfortunately, the flawlessly hip attire and grooming make the characters seem fake and distant. You want to hate them all.
Hit: A minimum of spray, mousse and gel. Hair is natural and breezy, as if the wind machine were always blowing.
Miss: Gray wears smashing business suits, but the bangs in her face bring her down, beckoning memories of Sue Ellen Ewing.
We Could Live Without: Strained trendiness, as in the Madonna-esque pigtails on Julie Dante (Kylie Travis)--weren’t those last year’s rage?--and the plucked and penciled eyebrows.
Inspiration: “I go out a lot at night. I love to people-watch, at a bar called Jones, where you see the most beautiful, roguish people, and at the Lava Lounge. I go to fashion shows Downtown. Everybody’s got a copy of Arthur Elgort’s ‘Model’s Manual.’ And I go to Centerfold on Fairfax and buy $100 worth of foreign fashion magazines.”
Sources: Hillary’s suits are by Richard Tyler, Christian Francis Roth, Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein. Models’ clothes, in a variety of labels, are frequently purchased at such Beverly Center stores as Bullock’s, Ice and Traffic Studio. Shoes by Charles David.
The complete guide to home viewing
Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyone’s talking about.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.