pvccorsets

    KARL Lagerfeld, the creator of the high-fashion catsuit, has now cast it in bronze and gold. At the show of his own-label line in Paris yesterday, he set out to prove that a woman can wear anything, however
    skimpy and sheer, as long as it is slipped over a second skin of metallic gold.
    From the first colourful coats that reverse from shocking pink to red or red to yellow, through to the gossamer drapes of black chiffon for evening, the new Lagerfeld line is worn over high-necked or low-scooped catsuits that look as though every curve of the body is painted in metallic bronze, silver or gold. The theme music was, latex uniforms, of course, from the James Bond film Goldfinger.
    As well as being a prolific and talented designer, Karl Lagerfeld is a masterly showman. He has already rejuvenated the classic Chanel jacket by dispensing with the matching skirt and showing it worn over leggings alone. The theatrical impact of his shimmering Goldfinger catsuits is not lost on the designer, who has been working concurrently on more than 100 costumes for the Puccini opera La Rondine (The Swallow), which opens in Monte Carlo on Wednesday.
    However, there is more to the new Lagerfeld collection than just gold bodysuits. His new curvy jackets are worn over skirts slit at the sides. Jackets that come with three pairs of pockets or two sets of lapels seem typical of a designer whose life and work is conducted at high speed and encompasses many collections each year for three big fashion labels: his own, Chanel and Fendi in Rome.

On a trip to Paris a year ago, Neiman Marcus buyer Barbara Stanfield discovered a cache of high fashion in latex clothing. No, it was not the latest sexy rubber catsuit from Karl Lagerfeld. These bulbous pots and vessels are the latest innovations from a French design collaborative called "O." Creators Francis Fevre and Charlotte Arnal reinterpret familiar containers in unexpected materials such as lowly Rubber latex tops, concrete and stone. The collection includes rounded vases and trash cans shaped like garden gourds . This spring, Neimans will carry a selection in matte white.
"They're the first people I've seen in decorative arts doing real 20th-century things," says Stanfield, who buys gifts for 27 Neiman Marcus stores. She hails the "O" line as being design oriented as well as affordable. "Most people keep going back to the classics rather than looking forward. This is a fresh approach."
As 'chameleon,' phillips is ready for tight spotThe things actors go through for a role.
Take actress Bobbie Phillips, for example. For her leading part in UPN's movie "Chameleon III," Phillips had to be doused with powder and have the help of a wardrobe consultant just to get on the rubber catsuit she wears throughout the project.
"We had to take it off during lunch; it's that fitted," Phillips said. "I would literally lose a pound a day, a pile of water would just drain out when we were done. it was disgusting. it was awful. But it looks great once it's on."
Phillips, who appeared as a recurring character on ABC's "Two Guys and A Girl" this season, is finding the "Chameleon" role hard to shake. The movie series is built around her chameleon-like agent at the futuristic International Bureau of Investigation. She's a gun-toting, motorcycle-riding crimefighter who has captured the hearts of UPN's primarily male audience.
Both "Chameleon" and "Chameleon II" did well for UPN in the Nielsen department, although Phillips wasn't very happy with the way the second installment turned out. In fact, she nearly didn't return for a third go-round."Even with the problems of the second one, I think everyone still realized, 'Look, this is one of those things that happen. Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater.' "
Despite her reservations about the second movie, Phillips said tonight's show returns to the original concept."It's got a really great look and, as far as storywise, I think it has a nice mix, a few comedic moments and some intrigue," she said.
Phillips' character is a mix of ruggedness with a dose of sexy, as borne out by the skintight uniform. Like the earlier shows, there is a love scene, though one dramatically toned down from the eye-popping bedrumble of "Chameleon II."
"I know we want it to be sexy, but I don't want it to be the Spice Channel," she said. "The catsuit is made out of Rubber clothing and latex clothing. I've also got the gun belt. But I don't have my breasts hiked up to my chin. It's still becoming, but not over the top."It's definitely sexy, but it's not to the point where kids can't watch," she added. "Hopefully, it will appeal to a wide range of people."
And should tonight's telecast do well in the Nielsen department, there's been some preliminary talk of turning the "Chameleon" franchise into a series."I would love more than anything for 'Chamelon' to go to series," she said.

     WHAT will it be for you madam? A Finnish opera coat in loft insulation fabric? Or perhaps a flared latex catsuit and parasol made from string sat-suma bags?
     Such was the level of wrong-headedness at last night's Smirnoff International Fashion Awards, where 28 students were competing for the world title.
     The winners of national competitions were gathered at the Business Design Centre in N1 to show off their "decadent" designs for the new millennium. In Croatia, decadence is a bilious yellow skirt hanging with fresh slabs of steak; in Canada, it's a velvet stole that makes the model look as though she has been engulfed by a mutant slug. The winners, however, shone out. Third prize went to John Boddy of England for his slick designs; second was won by Bulgaria's Tatiana Popova, whose Lurex mini-dresses won the admiration of the judges,pvc dress, including Alexander McQueen, Nicole Farhi and Antonio Berardi.
     The winner was in a class of his own. Declan Kearney of Northern Ireland produced two delicately wrought dresses of fine black leather. For his decadent work, Kearney won £10,000 and a bursary to study for an MA at Central Saint Martins College.

    Blonde babe Pamela Anderson has always been up front about where her talents lie.
     And now the former Baywatch star is trying to boost her career by boosting her boobs - again.
     Pam looked as if she had gone up a good few bra sizes when she appeared in a bright pink figure-hugging catsuit during filming of her new television series, VIP.
     In the show due to be shown in Britain later this year, she plays a Jaguar- driving private eye going undercover to crack crime in Los Angeles.
     So if the latex catsuit is her idea of going under cover - what's she going to do to get noticed?
     One possibility was the T-shirt she was wearing when she stopped off in London yesterday.
     The word "Girl" was emblazoned across her expanding chest - as if anyone was in any doubt about her gender.
     Pamela stepped from her Virgin Atlantic flight in the middle of a group of half a dozen minders and assistants.
     Wearing tight blue jeans, she said she didn't plan to stay for long.  She added: "I'm on my way to Germany. I'm going to launch my new TV show, VIP."
     At Heathrow, the airline naturally made sure Pamela received VIP treatment. She was escorted from the jet to a luxury lounge, where she waited for her onward flight.
     The star stayed silent about estranged husband Tommy Lee, latex stockings, who was released this week after being jailed for battering her. But she said recently she still loves him.
     Pamela was travelling without children Brandon and baby Dylan.
     But luckily, she showed off her other two prize assets.

     The Japanese are getting a little soft.
    Two avant-garde Japanese designers, Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto, veered from their old tricks - asymmetrical hems, ragbag layers, somber colors and missing sleeves - in their spring '91 collections Thursday.
    Both showed a kinder, gentler side: long layers of sheer chiffon, silk and lace; crocheted capri-length catsuits under apron dresses; midcalf jersey sheaths and schoolgirl smocked and gathered shorts suits.
    Both collections ranged from the predictable black, latex pants,white and gray (dyed with sumi, a calligrapher's ink at Comme des Garcons) to the glare of Yamamoto's bright blue and green mod kimono pantsuits and crocheted jackets tossed over black capri catsuits.
    Even the popular print trend appeared in the Japanese shows. Comme des Garcons showed stained-glass mosaic and gemstone prints on sheer chiffon and silk jersey; Yamamoto stuck to brown and black polka-dotted silk.
    ''Because the times are so difficult,'' explains Marion Greenberg of Comme des Garcons, ''Rei decided to keep the collection very light, with a feeling of fantasy.''
    Frivolous nonsense, you say? Perhaps.
    But before you laugh off these flights of fancy, remember: Both designers were doing work-ethic aprons and overalls - seen in every Paris collection so far this week - two years ago.

ROCK beauty Shirley Manson is getting her claws out for a catfight over a leading role in the next Batman movie.
The fiery Garbage singer wants Hollywood bosses to give her the prized part of Catwoman in the blockbuster Dark Knight sequel.
And the musician-turnedactress also showed her catty side by getting her claws out for Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry, who donned the latex catsuit in earlier movies. The Edinburgh-born redhead said: "I'd love to play Catwoman. I just think Catwoman hasn't really been fully realised yet.
She is supposed to be difficult. I certainly haven't seen it.
"Halle Berry wasn't quite right. And while I liked Michelle Pfeiffer to a certain degree, I didn't think she was dangerous enough. She was more cute than fierce. Not enough of the beast in her. If you are going to embody a cartoon character like that you have to be a bit more inexplicable, intangible.
"Make it more of a mystery. It would be good fun latex gloves- I'm their girl." Shirley, 42, is earning rave reviews for her acting debut in US TV Terminator spin-off The Sarah Connor Chronicles, in which she plays a killer robot from the future.
Filming of the new Batman instalment, provisionally called The Caped Crusader, is due to begin in Vancouver, Canada, next year. But she faces an uphill struggle to upset early favourite for the role 33-year-old Angelina Jolie.