EMMY'S DRESS-DOWN EDICT FASHION WILL STILL BE IMPORTANT AT THE AWARDS, BUT JUST NOT AS SHOWY.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Fashion Editor

The fashion parade at Sunday's Emmy Awards show will reflect the somber mood in America and could result in a multimillion-dollar blow to the fashion industry - particularly in California.

Glamorous gowns will be replaced by simple suits, say designers, stylists and jewelers who are scrambling to comply with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' edict to dress down the stars in a show of respect for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and the war on terrorism.

``Attention has turned away from glamour and fashion, and become focused on unity, compassion and charity,'' said Los Angeles designer Max Azria. ``It is not just a lack of exposure of glamorous evening gowns on the red carpet at this year's Emmys that will affect evening wear business, but the mood of the nation. People may not be dressing up for a while.''

Ilse Metchek Pola, executive director of the California Fashion Association in Los Angeles, predicts the $32 billion-a-year wholesale industry - which includes garment and textile manufacturers - in the city will be hit hard and that some of the 8,700 firms might not survive.

Some are in a tizzy 

``The dress-down for the Emmys has put predictive services - those people who make a living predicting colors and styles - into a tizzy ... since the Emmys will give us no forecast,'' she said.

The repercussions also will hit the jewelry industry and even those designers who get their inspiration from the high styles on the red carpet and translate the looks into affordable outfits.

``Think of it. Will Allen Schwartz be sending a bunch of people to the Emmys to knock off a basic black dress or suit? I don't think so,'' commented stylist-to-the-stars Phillip Bloch.

Schwartz, a veteran in the manufacturing industry who began making copies of Emmy and Oscar gowns about eight years ago, said the change will directly affect his business.

``Without the Emmys I'll lose easily $500,000 to $1 million,'' he said. ``I won't be copying any gowns - or any of the suits - since I already make suits for my ABS company that does a $5 million-a-year business with Saks Fifth Avenue.

``It accounts for 10 to 20 percent of my annual business but 1,000 percent of my publicity,'' he added. Schwartz also had designed a gown and is now working on a suit for Lorna Luft, who helped produce the TV movie ``Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows,'' which was nominated for 13 Emmys.

While designers typically give or loan their gowns and jewels to the stars, they rely on the exposure only awards shows can offer. Last year, the Emmys reached an estimated 46 million television viewers.

``This year, we were looking forward to the Emmys as an important vehicle, so of course it's a disappointment,'' says Carol Brodi Gelles, spokeswoman for jeweler Harry Winston. ``We had eight or nine stars lined up to dress, but if we do loan jewelry it will be less subdued, more tasteful.''

Continuing uncertainty among the American public has the fashion industry preparing for similar dress-down edicts for the Golden Globes in January and the Oscars in March.

``I fear the same panic reaction will affect the Golden Globes and Oscars, but then, I'm not a psychic,'' said stylist Bloch, whose clients include Kim Cattrall of HBO's ``Sex and the City.''

`Worth a million'

The house of Harry Winston could stand to lose millions in both public relations and sales.

``When major young stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow wear Harry Winston jewels to the Oscars, it's worth a million dollars in publicity,'' said Brodi Gelles, adding that, in that case, Paltrow's father also bought the $160,000 diamond necklace for his daughter.

Only once before were stars asked to wear suits to an awards show, and that was to the Oscars in 1942, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, according to Patty Fox, fashion consultant for the Oscars and author of ``Star Style at the Academy Awards.'' Fox is still waiting to hear if she'll be producing a pre-fashion show for the Oscars.

Avoiding conspicuous consumerism

``In these times, people will spend less on large wardrobes to avoid anybody thinking of them as a conspicuous consumer,'' said Metchek Pola of the California Fashion Association, adding that Americana fashions will be popular. ``In fact, I suspect Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess! and possibly the Gap will do well in the coming months, while those known for more ethnic designs will not.''

For now, designers are busy conforming to the new look.

``I suppose that everybody wearing a suit may be a symbol of unity, as it is a uniform and that makes a statement in itself,'' said Jeanne Yang, a San Fernando Valley-based stylist whose clients include Calista Flockhart, Kristen Johnston and Sarah Michelle Gellar. ``I expect stylists will now be raiding the closets of Armani and Hugo Boss, whose suits have always been a non-statement.''

Los Angeles designer Eduardo Lucero, who got a lot of press at the Oscars this year when he dressed Gillian Anderson in a gown that dipped so low in back that her g-string was exposed, already had designed a provocative cocktail dress for ``The Practice'' co-star Marla Sokoloff.

``It shouldn't be a big extravaganza out of respect, but designers are caught in the middle. We're not quite sure what people should wear,'' he said.

He's now designing a suit for Sokoloff.

``I'm trying to figure out how conservative to make it ... with longer sleeves or make a three-piece suit with a beaded shell. I'm sure she and my other clients - producers and producer's wives - will want something more covered up, not too long and probably in a dark color such as black, brown or burgundy ... or maybe navy.''

Fashion police take a furlough 

Without a glitzy red carpet parade, celeb watchers will have little to talk about.

``We're not going to sit around critiquing suits,'' says Leon Hall, co- host of E! Entertainment's ``Fashion Emergency'' and ``Fashion Review'' programs, ``although it might be a nice time to celebrate the stylists who work hard all year dressing people for all those television shows.''

Two other E! icons, Joan and Melissa Rivers, will also skip the red carpet schmoozing this year.

Hall says he will watch to see if anybody pushes the envelope.

``I hope Cher will show up in a flashy red dress. It would make me - and a whole lot of people - smile. We need some relief from all that's happened,'' he says.

CAPTION(S):

8 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Geena Davis' sheer gown, left, and Sarah Jessica Parker's frills from last year's show will be missed at Sunday's Emmy Awards.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) Stars such as Halle Berry, above, will strike a more somber fashion stance this year.

(4 -- 6 -- color) The new dress-down edict issued to Hollywood has been interpreted by Escada, top and right, and Allen Schwartz, left, to include pantsuits.

(7 -- color) Los Angeles designer Eduardo Lucero offered this sketch of a cocktail suit as an example of appropriate attire for the Emmys as the country goes to war.

(8) Joan Fontaine wore a suit and mourning veil to the Oscars the year Pearl Harbor was bombed when the first dress-down edict was issued to Hollywood.

Courtesy of ``Star Style at the Oscars''

Box:

Fashion police take a furlough (see text)