Fashion Show

A celebrity fashion show to benefit the Eric Michael Hoggatt Foundation, named for a Reseda High School football player who died after a game in September, will be held Friday in Woodland Hills. The event, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Warner Center Marriott, will feature actors Larry B. Scott and Terrence Howard, and actor-rap artist Tone Loc. It will be hosted by Scott. San Diego neurologist Jay Rosenberg, an expert on concussions, will speak on the risks of head injury in contact sports.

* The 28th annual benefit fashion show and tea, sponsored by Church Women United, is set for 1 p.m. today at Ventura's First United Methodist Church, 1338 E. Santa Clara St. Men's and women's fashions will be modeled by members of the 10 churches in the Ventura unit. Music will be performed, and Jymmye Hitch will narrate. A donation of $5 is requested, with proceeds going to local charities. For more information, call 647-6390 or 643-8382.

As a mad scientist remakes a dead lover from her remnants or a man marries a replica of his first wife, so Bravo -- the network "Project Runway" left for Lifetime -- has created a new series in the image of the departed old. "The Fashion Show" debuts tonight, in advance of the overdue "Runway" Season 6, the better to attract that show's waiting viewers.

St. Jude Memorial Foundation's eighth annual Walk Among the Stars fashion show, which aims to raise funds for cancer programs, will be Sunday. Organizers hope to raise $50,000 for a resource library at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, which would provide the latest information on the detection and treatment of cancer. The library service would be free, and visitors would be able to use the Internet and several databases that include articles from medical and consumer journals.

Glossy magazines are shrinking, stores are shuttering and spending is sputtering -- which makes the biannual ritual of designer runway extravaganzas seem as excessive as a failed bank's Vegas junket. But in fashion, the shows must go on. So the fall runway season will kick off on Thursday in New York with 220 events, just five fewer than last February.

Life-size toy soldiers, Raggedy Anns and Andys, a well-known teddy bear and his famous cousin did more than set the theme for "Fantasies in Toyland," the fashion-show benefit for Childrens Hospital of Orange County. They were also a reminder of the reason behind the festivities: bringing joy to children, in this case, sick or injured children whose families might not be able to afford medical care.

Breast cancer survivors will model fashions designed for women with cancer at a noon fashion show Saturday at the Marriott Hotel at River Ridge. The show, called "Heart and Soul," will feature outfits by local designer Carolyn Vega. Guest speaker at the $30 buffet luncheon will be Beverly Kirkhart, publicist for the inspirational book "Chicken Soup for the Soul." Gloria Forgea, executive director of the Cancer Center of Ventura County, said eight of the 10 models have had breast cancer.

The mirrored disco ball dangling from the ceiling wore mirrored Mickey Mouse ears. When it spun, polka dots of light dashed across the lunching ladies and football fans in Disneyland Hotel's Grand Ballroom. With tickets ranging from $50 to $100, last Thursday's Pigskin Classic Fashion Show--held the day of the Florida State vs.

Dizzy Dean, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Cy Young would have been flabbergasted. Quite likely, even Ray Kroc would have been amazed. When a baseball team switches uniforms, it is usually "unveiled" in the presence of maybe two equipment men, a trainer and a bat boy. Such occasions traditionally have merited all the pomp and circumstance of hauling the garbage to the curb. When the Padres unpacked their new duds on Thursday, I didn't even see an equipment man.

Trading in clerical neckwear for fancy bow ties, two Catholic priests modeled with other community leaders in the Gentlemen's Haberdashery fashion show. Rev. Msgr. Paul Martin and Father Steve Sallot strode down the ramp in tuxedos and then--should anyone doubt their accessory of choice--whipped out Roman collars and held them up to their necks. It was all part of the fun Tuesday at the Newport Beach Marriott and Tennis Club.