AN APPETITE FOR DIVINE DESIGN : TAKE 5 DIVINE DESIGN.

What: Divine Design '96 Awards Dinner, the star-studded gala to celebrate the best in design, and raise money for two major Los Angeles AIDS charities, Project Angel Food and the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA).

The haps: More than 1,200 guests paid $350 each Sunday night to attend the gala shopping and dinner party that promised a personal appearance by supermodel Cindy Crawford and fab cross-dresser and singer RuPaul. After shopping, guests went up to the roof of the Pacific Design Center, where a huge tent was decorated to create a heavenly ambience with life-size Cupids and clouds hanging from the ceiling and a choir singing near the entrance.

It was one big black-tie hug-fest with party host Jane Leeves of TV's ``Frasier,'' ``Home Improvement's'' Richard Karn, and ``Who's the Boss?'' star Judith Light mixing and mingling with designers such as Janet Howard (she's California's Designer of the Year), retail industry representatives and interior design folks.

Before the night was over, they raised $1.5 million for the local charities, with more expected to be earned from the designer boutiques that will remain open to the public through today.

Who got the awards: Supermodel Cindy Crawford, wearing a black double-breasted pantsuit with flared legs, awarded Herb Ritts the Divine Design Award for his fashion photography. Admitted Gucci-aholic Jennifer Tilly, wearing a V-necked knit black Gucci gown, announced Gucci designer Tom Ford as the recipient of the Fashion Design Award, but, alas, all we got was a videotape of him saying thanks. Bubbly Lisa Kudrow, sporting a ponytail with her tuxedo, gave shoe-and-purse designer Kenneth Cole, who talked about soles and souls, the Corporate Humanitarianism Award, and RuPaul wore a glittery, pumpkin-colored gown to accept the Makeup Artistry Award for winner Frank Toskan, the founder of MAC cosmetics. Also honored was Sally Sirkin Lewis who received the Interior Design Award.

The eats: A comfort-food menu that included yummy chicken pot pie and a rich, thigh-bulging bread pudding with brownies and cookies on the side, was catered by Michael Hollingsworth of Los Angeles, who served the same pies earlier that day to Project Angel Food patients.

He said/she said: Crawford, who guests whispered was taller and thinner than they'd imagined, joked about Ritts, saying that the first time he photographed her she figured that even if she didn't like the pictures, he would give her a discount at his hotel. Then she discovered he wasn't that Ritz ... (see, you can be gorgeous and funny). Then RuPaul blabbed about MAC's Viva Glam lipstick, which has a sequel - Viva Glam II - making its debut in February. Sales from the original shade earned $5 million for AIDS projects.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Supermodel Cindy Crawford had her own way of putting on the Ritts at the Divine Design '96 Awards Dinner at the Pacific Design Cente

(2) No caption (A man, a chair and a pillow)