While 2006 got off to a bloody start in Harmony thanks to an attempt on Alistair’s life, everyone on PASSIONS was dressed to the nines for his New Year’s Eve murder party, thanks to costume designer Dane Eden.
“There’s a lot of activity — chasing each other, looking for each other and lights going out — so I had to make sure they could all move,” explains Eden. “It’s always a toss-up: Do I put them in absolutely fabulous strappy, 4-inch sexy sandals, or do I remind them that they’re going to be running and on their feet all day? We try to make them as comfortable and as glamorous as possible.
“I always have fun pulling it together,” Eden notes. “The dress comes first. Then I have a wonderful shopper, Elizabeth, who goes out for shoes. I tell her what I’m looking for, and off she goes. The last thing is the jewelry, the purses and the wraps. I try to do the whole look and make sure the earrings and the necklaces and the purses are perfect. The Pretty Couture Boutique has wonderful jewelry, and I have a few pieces from a boutique called Robert Ellis. I shop jewelry all over the place. I don’t spend huge sums, because I don’t think you can tell real from fake. I’d rather put the money into the gowns. Sheridan’s earrings I made, for example. I couldn’t find an earring that had the perfect shade of blue, so I got out my tweezers and my bead box and made her the perfect pair.”
As for Alistair’s other perfectly dressed guests…
REBECCA
“Rebecca is always dressed like a movie star from another era. She has that kind of body. It’s a very Marilyn Monroe dress, and the label is Bakti. It’s just a sunburst, pleated dress with the rhinestone at the shoulder and the bust.”
EVE
“Dr. Eve is always conservative. I don’t put her in bugle beads or cut-outs. She tends to like black and white and simple/conservative. It’s partly Tracy [Ross] and partly the character.”
IVY
“Ivy’s dress was made by a boutique in Sherman Oaks [Calif.] called Pretty Couture. It’s a rose and gold taffeta, and she looked amazing in it.”
SIMONE
“We always dress Simone a little bit funky. We can go a little edgy on her. I was in Nordstrom’s, and hidden away was this one gown, which was leopard-skin chiffon with the cut-outs and flowers. I said, ‘That’s it!’ Simone in evening dress should be just as fun and unusual as she is in her casual wear.”
GWEN
“She doesn’t attend the party. She comes to the mansion to rescue her baby and gets caught up in the action. So she’s wearing a Diane von Furstenberg print dress. It’s just a day dress.”
