On Monday night New York Women in Film & Television held their Fourth Annual Designing Hollywood Gala at Sotheby’s and rather than go down that now too familiar road of lavishing praise on stylists who dress (or more accurately shop for) the stars for the red carpet, the organization made an infinitely wiser and more interesting choice of tapping three vastly talented women who are responsible for actors’ looks on screen.
This year’s honorees were Oscar-winning costumer Colleen Atwood who snagged a golden boy for her work on “Chicago,” Jennifer Von Mayrhauser whose work for 11 seasons of the NBC hit “Law & Order” has been widely recognized as some of the best on television and make-up artist Judy Chin whose eclectic resume boasts work on the films “Frida” and “Requiem for a Dream” as well as the most style-conscious show ever filmed, “Sex and the City.”
PEOPLE’s managing editor Martha Nelson moderated an all too brief Q&A and traded quips with actress/model Karen Duffy, who when introducing Nelson, chided her for naming Duffy to her magazine’s worst dressed list. “You transcend fashion and style,” Nelson responded. “You’re all about substance.” And so, for a change, was a fashion event.
– reported by our contributing entertainment editor Diane Clehane
