TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS FEAR AND CLOTHING IN L.A. THE SPIRIT OF PUNK WAS STILL ALIVE AND KICKING DURING LOS ANGELES FASHION WEEK WITH ALMOST EVERY SPRING/SUMMER 2004 DESIGNER COLLECTION LOOKING LIKE A LATE NIGHT AT CBGB'S.

Byline: Elizabeth Snead

The Los Angeles fashion week has always been seen as the scatterbrained, slightly slutty stepsister of the high-fashion designer collections in New York, Paris, Milan and London. Now with strong corporate sponsors and professional organization, the L.A. style scene may be cleaning up its act. The fashion press - and celebrities - viewed last week's shows to see what West Coast designers would present in their spring collections.

Two powerful forces battled for control of fashion week.

The Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A. showcased 34 designers (including Magda Berliner, Petro Zillia, Frankie B, Tree, Richard Tyler, Joey and T) at the Standard Hotel downtown with fast-paced shows. The powerful rival is SmashBox Photo Studios, headquartered in Culver City, organized by Dean and Davis Factor, heirs to the Max Factor fortune.

SmashBox staged shows for 25 indie designers such as Daly Bain, Lure, Kloz Horse, WIE and actress-turned designer Jaime Pressly as well as known names Imitation of Christ, Jeremy Scott and Jennifer Nicholson.

Two competing venues, shows that overlap and a good hour commute between them? Not a recipe for a successful fashion week.

Stylist-to-the-stars Phillip Bloch commented: ``I really prefer the vibe at SmashBox. Its more wild and crazy, more L.A. These (the Mercedes Benz) shows feel like New York.'' If New York translates to convenient, organized, on time and with short, well-edited collections, that's not a bad thing, say retail buyers and busy fashion reporters. Those who ventured off-site to SmashBox complained of having to park miles away, taking a slow jitney to and from the show and/or waiting eons for valet parking. Even Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart had to cool their heels at the valet stand Monday - and Ford had his left arm in a black sling after recent surgery. What, no handicapped parking?

But what SmashBox lacks in convenience, it makes up for with star power. The celeb bomb exploded Sunday night at Jeremy Scott's aptly dubbed ``Sex-ibition,'' a show that looked more like a Hollywood bachelor party, featuring not-so-little Bo Peeps, topless dominatrix nuns, lingerie-clad pole dancers and leaf-covered Adams and Eves (with an apple and a huge snake) on models like former Tim Burton muse Lisa Marie and the infamous hotel heiresses Nicky and Paris Hilton.

At the As Four show, singer Bjork (looking eerily like Liza Minnelli) turned up to take in the futuristic medieval mode. Sharon's sis Kelly Stone, Leslie Hope from ``24,'' and Tom Cruise's first ex-wife, Mimi Rogers, turned up for the Alvin Valley collection. Tuesday, Jack Nicholson came to daughter Jennifer Nicholson's collection of feminine, elegant, black-and-white eveningwear, along with Dennis Hopper, Carmen Kass, Garry Shandling, Lisa Rinna and Sally Kellerman. Pamela Anderson's on-again-off-again hubbie Tommy Lee turned up at the Victoria's Secret show (duh) and showed up to watch Kimberly Stewart (Rod's kid) model in Sheri Bodell's show. Christian Slater and wife Ryan Haddon, Shane West and Nick Lachey came to cute blond actress Pressly's first show of sexy thong swimsuits, stretch lace and velvet mini-dresses. Gosh, just what the fashion world needs more of.

CAPTION(S):

10 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Danielle Clarke's Frankie B gave hipster edge to low-rise flare haute vintage jeans, sleeveless T-shirts, frayed denim vests, corduroy micro-minis and baby doll tops. All the models wore the new spring 2004 hair: long, straight, lank locks with punky in-your-eyes bangs.

(2 -- color) Jenni Kayne's slashed satin gowns, ripped-to-ribbons skirts, grommetted tops and very sheer metal mesh tops and mini-dresses, all ogled by Jack Osbourne (his frizzy fro keeps getting bigger every day), Henry Thomas, Aaron Paul, Melissa Rivers, Christian Slater, Tara Lipinski, Michelle Rodriguez, Donovan Leitch and his pregnant supermodel wife, Kristy Hume. They took turns licking the same lollipop during the show.

(3 -- color) Miller Girl (Nicole Miller's hip new line) showed off a collection of camo and cargo cropped pants, jackets, crocheted halters, black-and-white cotton mini-dresses worn with lace capri leggings and unlaced heavy black boots.

(4 -- color) Rock and Republic's groupie garb: slashed, ripped and block printed T-shirts that read London Rocks, Tokyo Rocks, Let It Rock, Rock the Republic ... you get the idea. Sexy thong body suits were worn under mini-skirts and jeans. Front and center: the unlikely trio of Paula Abdul, Mimi Rogers and Bobby Trendy.

(5 -- color) Things got really childish at the Nom show Wednesday morning with pregnant stars Cheryl Hines (``Curb Your Enthusiasm'') and Charlie Sheen's wife, Denise Richards, cooing over Jennifer Noonan's collection of soft pastel dresses and belly-baring stretch separates modeled by some VERY expectant (any moment!) beauties. We sure hope they had a baby doc waiting backstage.

(6 -- color) Brunette babes Rita Wilson, right, Daisy Fuentes, Sheryl Crow and Daphne Zuniga were front row at the Richard Tyler show of fabulous formal couture and funky day wear at the downtown Standard on Thursday night. Wilson looked like a teenager in her hip new 'do - long, straight hair with bangs. And she was doing some serious shopping, snapping outfits with her cell-phone camera, perhaps to review later or e-mail to hubby Tom Hanks. Lining up that Oscar gown already, Rita?

(7 -- 8 -- color) Topless dominatrix nuns, top left, and the bondage look, as modeled by former Tim Burton muse Lisa Marie, right, were part of Jeremy Scott's ``Sex-ibition.''

(9 -- color) LEE, STEWART

(10 -- color) As Four's collection included ... um ... well, we're not completely sure.

WireImage.com photos by Thomas Concordia, Randy Brooke and Amy Graves