Been There, Done That : ...

Just as Republicans were big winners in ‘94, chickens should do well in ’95.

After what one exasperated caterer calls “two years of chicken, chicken, chicken,” look for New Year party menus to wing away from “health” rations and fly back to red meats and mashed potatoes.

The party world is overdue for a nostalgic return to comfort (read: fattening ) food. The new motto: Eat now, aerobicize later.

As for movie premieres, the trend that began in ’94 will continue full steam into ‘95, moving away from blockbuster tented parties and back toward the more cozy gatherings of 10 and 20 years ago. Most films will debut with mid-size affairs on studio lots or at the retro-fashionable Motion Picture Academy.

Ironically, one of the year’s biggest parties is expected to come from the perennially strapped-for-cash theater world: April’s West Coast premiere of “Beauty and the Beast” should be one of ‘95’s true extravaganzas.

The look in parties will be less glitz and more style, less Bob Mackie and more Richard Tyler. What music will be heard at these stylishly subtle affairs is anybody’s guess. Will the Republican resurgence mean more country and less Pearl Jam?

Who knows, maybe even the Funky Chicken will make a comeback. . . .

Also keep an eye out for what we might call haute porn.

As the Victoria’s Secret catalogue has replaced Playboy as the smut rag of choice among high rollers, the hot theme on the club scene has become the striptease.

Clubs such as Tatou, Glam Slam and 7969 all feature some version of Erotica Night, and Kelbo’s has been recently reincarnated a la sailors’ shore leave in Singapore. The truly savant go for the real thing: Look for Jumbo’s Clown Room to be the next Dresden.