To Our Readers

The van carrying the clothes was very late. By the time the models finally emerged from the artificial chill of their motor home in platinum wigs and the winter whites of Ralph Lauren, dark clouds were cutting in front of the sun. Beautiful. Photographer Steve Shaw could not have Photoshopped a more menacing sky for his fashion send-up of “Village of the Damned,” the 1960 sci-fi thriller about 12 strangely malevolent children living in the same tiny town. Our “town” is actually a movie set, built in the early ‘90s and dubbed Club Ed, outside of Lancaster. It seemed an ideal mood for our issue on fashion at the millennium.

For an idea closer to home, we invited a hot crop of local talent to explain the inspirations behind their favorite looks. None of their designs are wired, but if the researchers at MIT’s media lab are right, we’ll all soon be clamoring for “wearable intelligence,” wherein cargo pockets make way for cell phones, laptops and Palm Pilots woven into our clothing.

We also reflect on the past in this issue, edited by Style editor Judy Prouty, in interviews with a man and woman who exemplify extremes in Hollywood fashion. He is costume designer Bob Mackie, who almost single-handedly made Cher synonymous with flamboyance. She is the conservatively stylish widow of director Vincente Minnelli, who won’t give her age, of course, but will share pointers on applying false eyelashes.

Take that with you into the 21st century.