When Comedy, Style Pop Up Together

When the VH-1 Fashion Awards were inaugurated four years ago, they aimed to marry style and music. Not much of a stretch pairing those two. But the surprise of this year’s fitfully entertaining awards show, taped in New York on Oct. 23 and scheduled to air tonight at 9, is that fashion and comedy have turned out to be more natural soul mates.

The laughs began with wickedly funny promos for the ’98 awards, starring Ellen DeGeneres, the show’s host. In one, she played reverse strip poker with a group of lingerie-clad Victoria’s Secret models. Each time the vapid beauties lost a hand, they had to put on some clothes. The spot was every bit as (intentionally) stupid as it sounds.

Then, as part of the cable channel’s promotional blitz for the awards, parts of the ’96 and ’97 ceremonies were repeated, reconstituted with Pop-Up Video commentary. Since the Pop-Up Video format is to comment on the action in cartoon-like balloons that pop up on the screen, any dead spots from past shows could be rendered ridiculous with the appearance of a silly message in a bubble.

VH-1 reran the Pop-Up Video versions of the last two award shows so many times over the weekend that it’s tempting to try to predict what asides will be added in the future, when this year’s awards get the Pop-Up treatment. When Marc Jacobs, 1998 women’s wear designer of the year, slouches to the stage, obviously annoyed at being honored, the bubble might say, “Ever since Jacobs lost the most improved camper of 1977 trophy at Camp Moosahlack, he’s thought awards competitions were lame.”

The awards categories themselves are part of the fun of the VH-1 presentations. Menswear designer of the year (Prada), best new designer (Belgian Veronique Branquinho) and photographer of the year (Steven Meisel) are known by fashion insiders, and their selection over other nominees is not likely to incite popular debate. Most of the other categories, though, are just mainstream enough to enable many in the audience to have an opinion.

Carolyn Murphy is female model of the year. Scott Barnhill is chosen male model of the year. The award for best avant-garde designer is preceded by a fashion show featuring work by the five nominees. When Alexander McQueen accepts the prize wearing angry smudges of scarlet powder under his eyes and skinny blond braids coiled around his bald head that traverse his pale face, covering his mouth, even someone clueless about fashion will get the message that the avant-garde, which can be gender bending, in-your-face ugly, springs from the same rebellious roots as rock ‘n’ roll.

The remaining categories--best personal style female and male, most fashionable artist and most stylish music video--concern fashion in the real world, the rock world and the fantasy place where celebrities live. They address fashion’s ability to be entertaining, playful and rule breaking. This year’s show, in fact, is generally looser than past outings, recognizing that it’s possible to honor talent and style and not be pretentious about it.

Showing that getting dressed isn’t synonymous with getting dressed up, women as different as host DeGeneres and presenter Claudia Schiffer keep their outfits simple. In contrast, Madonna, who performs and receives the Versace award presented to the person “who best continues to represent the energy and creativity of Gianni Versace,” transforms herself each time she comes to the stage, morphing from Goth goddess to sari-draped maiden to Civil War heroine. Oliver Theyskens, who dressed Madonna in gothic finery for the Academy Awards, is obviously her current favorite.

There’s an attempt to make the banter between presenters witty. Most effective are Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tom Ford. Since everyone knows she made a zillion on “Seinfeld,” her asking Ford for a celebrity discount on the clothes he designs for Gucci is appropriately absurd.

The show’s strength lies in its understanding that watching fashion isn’t inherently enjoyable, not without the boost of music or comedy. The highlights are short films performed by a rep company that includes Andy Dick, Ben Stiller and Sandra Bullock, shown at intervals throughout the evening.

The most biting lampoon comes at the beginning, a mock documentary that casts DeGeneres as a model scout who began her recruiting in grade school, targeting nasty, friendless girls with blossoming eating disorders. She explains, “There are a lot of selfish, bratty kids out there. And before they go and do anything stupid like get help or change, it’s my job to make them models. Who knows, maybe even supermodels.”

In the filmed skits, models are dumb and self-absorbed. Designers are pompous morons who create goofy junk. Is fashion only amusing when it’s being ridiculed, or is it just such a ripe target? Maybe making fun of fashion is so irresistible because it’s so exclusionary. Most of the time, the old, the fat, the short and the poor are all denied admission to the club. That leaves a large crowd with their noses pressed against the window, peering at clothes they’ll never be able to wear. The rejectees could use a good joke at their rejecters’ expense, and VH-1 is ready to provide it.