Columnist Muriel Stevens: Fashion shows have style to burn

Tuesday, May 26, 1998 | 10:17 a.m.

Last week was a banner one for haute fashion followers. Two major shows, both in support of worthy causes, featured premium designers whose clothes are timeless, and costly.

The Badgley Mischka show at Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show mall took place on the night "Seinfeld" ended. Know what? Ladies of fashion care more about Badgley Mischka than they do about "Seinfeld." There wasn't an empty seat.

The audience came in support of the Nevada Institute of Contemporary Art, but that wasn't all that was on the minds of NM Manager Terri Monsour, Elaine Hanlon, Sue Lowden, Viveca Marshall, Becky Buckley, Maria Quirk, Sonja Saltman, Dale Wynn, Phyllis Binion, Colleen Munro, Cindy Johnson and Jodi Fanfa.

Simplicity was everything, for the elegant fashions and for the show. NM Public Relations Manager David Cardoza emptied the area of the gift galleries located next to the designer department and turned it into a faux winter woods (after all, this was the fall collection) complete with barren trees bedecked with "diamonds," lighting that threw shadows of the branches on the walls, and placed the seating on three sides.

It was a charming setting for a collection that brought viewers back to the store the next morning, eager to order their favorite designs from the fabulous collection. Dozens of suits, dresses and evening wear were worn by rapier-thin models who slouched and pouted their way down the short runway.

The suits, some with lush, removable fur collars, were gorgeous. Beaded jackets matched with satin trousers were a big hit. Simply cut evening gowns featured discreet, but dramatic beading at the waist, bodice and necklines. The effect was glorious.

Mark Badgley and James Mischka met while studying at the Parsons School of Design in New York and instantly clicked. They share a similar philosophy about clothes and the way people dress. Both worked at designing for such well-known houses as Jackie Rogers and Donna Karan (Badgley) and WilliWear WilliSmith (Mischka) before starting their own line.

They knew what they wanted: "Keep it simple." Make clothes that are easy to wear -- "One zip and you're dressed." The young Hollywood set adores them. "Our style harks back to the glamorous Hollywood of the '40s," say the designers. The same styles appeal to anyone who can afford clothes made from unbelievably beautiful fabrics, and constructed with superior craftsmanship.

Among those applauding the collection were the NICA Honorary Committee members, whose efforts ensure that the world of art will remain alive in Las Vegas: Stephanie Youngblood, Terrie Bergman, Becky Visconti, Arlene Blut, Corrine Tiberti, Lisa Brooks, Andrea Facciani, Fran Fine, Mona Silverman, Carol Spiegel, Michelle Stuhmer, Gloria Fine, Liz Foley, Janie Gale, Tracy Knauss, Lisa Livingstone, Barbara Molasky, Susan Molasky, Leslie Parrraquire, Andrea Marnell, Cari Marshall and Marsha Miller. Roger Thomas and Julie Gaffney shared the NICA story, and emceed. Since the Badgley-Mischka designs are like works of art, pairing them with a NICA benefit was a fine fit.

Halston and Hospice

Is there any fashion-minded woman alive who doesn't know the Halston name? Halston dressed some of the most famous women in the world, including Jackie Kennedy Onassis (he invented her pink pillbox hat), Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minelli and Lauren Bacall. When he died, in 1990 at age 57, his fashion empire was in disarray. He had lost control of his name and the once proud label was dying, too.

Suddenly, the Halston label is hotter than ever -- saved, would you believe, by an American original born and raised in Las Vegas, Randolph Duke. It was a professor at UNLV who recognized Duke's design talent and encouraged him. At the time he was studying to be a concert pianist, but instead attended the Fashion Institute of Design in California, where he graduated with honors and won the Bob Mackie Award for design talent.

Through the years his bathing suit and sportswear designs won him followers. By 1987, he moved to New York and began a collection under his own name. Stints as a creative consultant and other experiences made him a prime candidate to become Design and Creative Director at Halston International. Today, the Halston label is back in fashion. Just ask the guests at the Benefit luncheon for the Nathan Adelson Hospice, or Sharon Bader, Fashion Director for Saks Fifth Avenue in the Fashion Show mall, who brought in the collection.

The showroom at the Desert Inn Hotel was filled to capacity with fashion mavens who had come in support of the hospice and to see Halston's Fall Collection, included smashing gowns such as those worn at the Academy Awards by Minnie Driver and Geena Davis. Gowns and more were included in the collection of everything from suits to leisure wear to evening wear. The fully-staged fashion show captivated members of the audience, who no doubt made their way to Saks the next day.

Were Halston alive today, he would have loved the event and the well-dressed audience that included: luncheon co-chairs Susan Molasky and Beth Weinberger, and committee members Nancy Houssels, Debra Shaiken, Wendy Plaster, Donna Baldwin, Donna Epstein, Theresa Fertitta, Lynn Weidner, Lovee Arum, Joyce Luman, Margo Rogich, Phyllis McGuire, Bonnie Schreck, Myra Greenspun, Susan Sullivan, Lynn Weidner, Alicia Jacobs and others.

McGuire was a charming guest host. Even when announcing the donated prizes, it sounded like music. And there were so many gorgeous prizes.

Among those enjoying the excitement of Randolph Duke's collection were Toni Clark, Elizabeth Blau, Christine McGuire, Agnes Mason, Fay Schulman, Debbie Rhodes, Bonnie Glusman, Shirley Borukh, Pat Lionel, Linda Cohen, Arda Yemanijian, Linda Cohen, Jane Schorr, Colette Saltz, Marjorie Barrick, Carol Lubritz, Monique Frey, Kitty Rodman, Claudine Williams, Thalia Dondero, Diane Bigelow, Mary Louise Sloan, Tammy McKennon, Camille Ruvo and hundreds more.

Most important of all: The success of the Halston show brought much-needed funds to the Nathan Adelson Hospice, where no patient is ever turned away. With such a compassionate policy, the Nathan Adelson Hospice needs all the help it can get.