The Empress Of Seventh Avenue

They're just so New York. Donna Karan and Stephan Weiss, fashion designer and sculptor, burnished from summer weekends in the Hamptons and glowing with the knowledge that they're hot and getting hotter. Donna is wearing black, of course, because she's in Manhattan (white is reserved for the beach). Weiss, his silver hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, has on one of her new men's suits. They're discussing their burgeoning apparel company, but they can't help slipping in a little Tracy-Hepburn from time to time: "You're wearing someone else's shirt, darling," Donna says. "Are you wearing my shoes?" "No, sweetheart," Weiss retorts. "These are my shoes. Your heels kill my feet."

Perfect. A little banter, a bit of clever repart'e. This is Seventh Avenue, after all, where wit and glamour are a kind of currency. Donna Karan has been here since she was 19, and she knows how it all works. First, you make a reputation, then, you make the scene. Before you know it, Murphy Brown's Candice Bergen accepts her Emmy wearing one of your $490 "cold shoulder" bodysuits, and everybody else wants one, too.