Tinseltown's Fairytale Fantasy

(LOS ANGELES) On the eve of the first day of spring, Miuccia Prada loyalists turned out at her Beverly Hills Epicenter Wednesday night for an unveiled of the animated short "Trembled Blossoms," where it wasn't only the film that had guests craving the fairytale fashions.

Angie Harmon wore perhaps the most startling look of the spring collection: a fairy printed chartreuse sheer chiffon skirt, which she paired with a green tank top and wine-colored Prada vine shoes. "This is my own fairytale," she giggled as she cut a rug with Rosario Dawson right on Rodeo Drive. "I'm so excited in this skirt that I can't even speak."

The Women's Murder Club actress wasn't the only one feeling--and looking--enchanted. With Miuccia herself wasn't in attendance, her impression was felt that night, with much of the flagship covered with the spring fairy-print design, including the stairs leading to the women's and men's clothing floors, the store windows, and various parts of the walls. Revelers parked themselves on the big staircase not only to preview the film (accompanied by a soundtrack created by Frederic Sanchez), but to watch the insanity as 800 guests, including Paz Vega, Saffron Burrows, Shiva Rose, Brittany Murphy, Isaiah Washington, Michele Hicks, and Michelle Trachtenberg worked the paparazzi line.

Brent Bolthouse was spinning from the second floor. "Yes, I'm wearing Prada," he laughed. "But I wear it a lot." Many female guests floated by to ask the newly-single nightlife guru about his latest boîte, Foxtail, that just opened on Santa Monica Boulevard. "It's a supper club modeled on the twenties," he described. "It's the most elaborate place I've ever done."
               
Minnie Driver arrived early, clad in a black chiffon ruffled sheath and a violet clutch--both Prada, natch. "I'll have you know I dressed myself tonight," she declared. "These are my own Prada clothes which I came in and bought!" The same with Tracee Ellis Ross, in her green puffy plaid-print skirt and ribbed top. "I wasn't going to let this collection slip by," she said. "I've been waiting and waiting for it. I bought this outfit a month ago and saved it for the party."

Inside the bash, spread out across all three floors, celebrities weaved in and out. Jenisa Washington marveled at the store while Erin Wasson and Angela Lindvall goofed around with the eclectic merchandise. "Okay, I borrowed this," the latter admitted of her Prada number. "But I'm going to buy it. It didn't have that much shape on the hanger, but when I put it on, it just stuck!" Wasson, meanwhile, who's spending time in L.A. to pursue an acting career, went full-tilt in a checked jumpsuit and mega high heels. "It's fun to see a fashion party in Los Angeles," she noted. "It's so much more colorful than New York--or maybe that's just the clothes."

Ginnifer Goodwin eschewed the colorful hues of spring Prada for a white frothy sheath with black velvet detail. "It's vintage Prada," she said. "Verdi Visconti brought it over for me from Milan." Nicole Richie, who was up all night with baby Harlow, sat in the back of the party in a black Miu Miu dress, waving to the likes of Brooke Shields and China Chow. "I cannot wait for the new Miu Miu store to open here," she sighed (it opens in April). For Jessica Capshaw, however, the dizzyingly wild prints and fabrics was a detour from her usually subdued style. "It's an adjustment to wear prints," she admitted. "But it's energizing, too."

Calmly taking it all in were James Lima, the film's director, and producer Max Brun, in from Milan. "Max called me," said Lima, "and said, 'I have a project for you, but it's top secret, and I can't tell you who made it.' Somehow, when I saw the images, I just knew it was Prada." Brun, meanwhile, revealed that he's already working on another project with the mercurial Mrs. Prada.

"But it's top, top secret," he smiled. "Mrs. Prada likes some mystery."
MERLE GINSBERG