FOR MANY, FASHION EVENT WAS A PASSPORT TO SCHMOOZE.

Byline: - Barbara De Witt

What: Passport '98, an evening of fashion and compassion sponsored by Macy's and American Express.

Where: Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport.

The haps: Swanky predinner reception with an endless supply of those pink Bacardi rum cocktails called Cosmopolitans, a swing band with exhibition dancers, a live cougar sitting on top of a Mercury Cougar, and a mini-exhibit of sequined costumes on loan from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Madonna's 1993 ``Girlie Show'' ensemble designed by Jean Paul Gaultier and James Brown's 1983 stage suit covered in blue sequins.

The buzz: Everybody was talking about how much fun they had dressing up for the event and were documenting the occasion with souvenir cameras that were seen flashing all over the party area.

Overheard: Designer Elie Tahari, with his fiancee, Rory Green (they're getting married in January), said fashion was getting more colorful, and a natural, sexy era of elegance was coming up.

Meanwhile, UCLA scientist Dr. Peter Anton commented about the strides made in AIDS research. Said Anton, ``The government doesn't fund basic lab work, but Macy's did - and thanks to them there is hope for an AIDS vaccine.''

The dinner: Held inside a huge tent painted to look like heaven ... or at least a blue sky with fluffy clouds. Dinner tables glowed from beneath their blue tablecloths with soft lighting and, on the top, in lieu of flowers, were ice sculptures holding candles.

The menu, prepared by Along Came Mary, featured Caesar salad, mustard herb chicken with an unattractive olive-tomato bread pudding - which many guests only poked at with their forks - and Ciao Bella's yummy blackberry and mango sorbets served in huge cookie shells presented like tostadas.

Celebs: Passport's three celebrity chairs - Elizabeth Taylor, Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson and k.d. lang - were all on stage for the fashion show, as was supermodel Christy Turlington. Guest models included Swoozie Kurtz, Daisy Fuentes, Kim Coles, Robby Benson and Jennifer Tilly. In the audience were fashion arbiter Mr. Blackwell with celebrity shrink Dr. Gilda Carle, Ed MacMahon, David Hasselhoff, Beau Bridges and California Rising Star designer Eduardo Lucero, who was dazzling in a gold iridescent suit.

Trend spotting: The must-haves of the season are cocktail hats, feather accents, cardigans with faux-fur collars, chandelier earrings, long gloves with gowns, opera coats and anything with a '20s or '30s theme. For men, the big news is the three-button jacket, whether it's on a sportcoat or suit, shown in chenille, velvet, leather or suede, or a traditional wool plaid.

Gift bags: There were plenty of small prizes, including Calvin Klein ball caps, pens, shot glasses, potpourri, flashlights, cookbooks and fragrance samples from Hugo Boss.

Bottom line: A sell-out crowd of 2,800 people raised $1 million for the HIV/AIDS cause in Los Angeles, while the combined effort (including three San Francisco performances) brought in a record-breaking $2 million. Since 1988, $8 million has been raised.