Taffeta, Velvet May Solve Your Y2K Problems
While most of L.A. is still basking in the summer sun, buyers this week at New Mart’s Holiday market 2000 were stocking up on holiday evening wear.
Taffeta dresses, as well as evening wear in silver and gold, did the best, according to Les Appel, whose Rex Lester line has been nominated for the 1999 Dallas International Fashion Award. Appel sees stores buying more evening wear in anticipation of all the dressy or formal celebrations and parties the millennium will bring.
“This market is Y2K driven,” said Trista Thavaj of Nicole Miller. Crushed taffeta skirts and tops and printed velvet skirts, tops and dresses were all popular. “Buyers have been ordering leopard, stretch velvet tubes and shrugs like crazy,” she said.
Meanwhile in Manhattan, NYC 2000, the official New York City millennium celebration, is finalizing plans for one of the largest fashion shows ever to be held in Times Square--not on New Year’s Eve but next month, on Sept. 13.
Designer looks worn by models and celebrities will be presented on a huge outdoor runway and live on television. All millennium creations will be auctioned at a later event, with proceeds going to support New York City public education.
Designers who have signed on to participate: Max Azria, Pamela Dennis, Randolph Duke, Mark Eisen, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Jill Stuart, Richard Tyler, Vera Wang and dozens more.
Pretty High-Brow: Eugenia Weston, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Senna Cosmetics in Beverly Hills, is donating 100% of the profits from her Form-a-Brow kits to breast cancer research.
The kits, $35, come in neutral, blond/redhead and dark. Each includes eyebrow stencils, color and brushes. Available at Senna Studio in Beverly Hills, Tarzana, Corona del Mar and Encino, and select Nordstrom locations.
A Big Plus: In plus-size news, Max Azria, the man behind BCBG, is launching a line for larger women in the fall. BCBG Max Azria Woman, in sizes 14 to 22, includes mix-and-match pieces in prints and solids, side-slit skirts, sleek pants and tunics. At select Bloomingdale’s stores.
More Big News: Leslie Berns and Cynthia Michaud, co-owners of the chic Leslie boutique in Studio City, have opened Leslie, Too! for customers size 14 and over.
“There is a widespread impression that women in Southern California defy the 14-and-up reality of the nation as a whole. I don’t believe this is true,” explained Michaud, whose Leslie, Too! is next door to Leslie on Ventura Boulevard.
New Moon Rising: Fed up with the line that beauty is only skin deep, New Moon Magazine: The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams is seeking 25 girls for a very different kind of beautiful-people issue.
The magazine’s Girls Editorial Board has timed its May/June 2000 issue of “25 Beautiful Girls” to contrast with People magazine’s “100 Most Beautiful” issue.
Girls who have overcome difficulties, created something new, stood on their own and reached their dreams will be honored by New Moon.
To nominate a girl between the ages of 8 and 14, send a 300-word essay about why she is beautiful to: girl@newmoon.org or to: Beautiful Girls, New Moon Publishing, P.O. Box 3620, Duluth, MN, 55803-3620. Deadline is Nov. 1.
Online Extras: In another example of the marriage of editorial content and e-commerce, discount Web site Bluefly.com (https://www.bluefly.com) has signed a deal with Harper’s Bazaar. Editors of the Hearst fashion magazine will feed exclusive trend tidbits to Bluefly on a monthly page scheduled to begin in October.
Another e-byte: L.A.-based online retailer Styleclick.com (https://www.styleclick.com) is now offering live fashion advice Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The group of style consultants includes designers, stylists and fashion journalists.
A Vodka Mix: Finlandia Vodka is pouring out shearling muffs to fashion designers, models and editors as part of a charity drive for the American Ocean Campaign.
The muffs were sent out along with questionnaires about bars, toasts and drink accessories. Responses will be printed in “Martini’s Fashion: Recipes of Seventh Avenue.” The booklet, due in the fall, will be available via the Finlandia Web site, https://www.finlandia-vodka.com.
In Short: Beginning this month, a portion of revenues generated from specially marked Billabong apparel will be earmarked for the Surfrider Foundation, a group dedicated to preservation of the world’s beaches and oceans. The Coalition of Los Angeles Designers will present its spring 2000 collections during the Directives Week fashion show Oct. 4. Also in October: L.A. designer Trina Turk will launch a Web site for her 1999 holiday collection at https://www.trinaturk.com, and Banana Republic will begin selling online.
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E-mail Booth Moore at booth.moore@latimes.com.
