ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 9, 1996 TAG: 9612100171
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ELINOR J. BRECHER KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
SHE was blond and gorgeous, a minor actress turned dictator's wife who died young and became a legend, almost as much for her style as for her politics.
Eva Maria Duarte de Peron - ``Evita'' to millions of adoring Argentines - championed the cause of the poor in her five-strand pearl necklace, her mink stoles, her Dior suits, her dazzling baubles, and her tightly braided chignon.
She was one of the 1940s' signature ``fashionistas''.
Thanks to ``Evita,'' the upcoming Walt Disney Co. film starring Madonna, the look returns. It's elegant, feminine, sophisticated, classy and - finally - wearable by adults with adult figures and tastes.
The early buzz from Hollywood about the film is positive. Madonna, it's said, has proved herself to be the actress she has never quite been in her 14 previous movies.
The early buzz from Seventh Avenue about Evita-inspired fashion is rapturous. Industry insiders are predicting nothing less than a full-scale Evita craze.
New York's Bergdorf Goodman plans to carry synthetic, Evita-like chignon hairpieces. And the owner of the store's salon expects a run on snoods, the baglike nets worn over chignons.
Bloomingdale's has gone all the way, establishing ``Evita'' boutiques at selected stores.
Maria Gomez, director of public relations for the Bloomingdale's store at The Falls in Miami, anticipates tremendous interest from locals and visitors, especially Latin Americans.
``Miami is an international city with very sophisticated Latin customers,'' she said. ``Besides, people are looking to get out of the '70s `flower child' trend into a more chic image.''
``When we've done shops in the past'' based on films, ``it's been juniors,'' said Kal Ruttenstein, the company's fashion director. ```Chariots of Fire,' `Dick Tracy,' `Supermania.' I don't think we ever did a true grown-up shop. This is the first time Madonna isn't talking about `Papa Don't Preach.' She has a child. We're all grown up.''
The Eva Peron story ``always interested me,'' Ruttenstein continued. ``I remember the play. Eva Peron was dressed by Paris couture, and there were a lot of lavish clothes on the stage.
``So last May I went to California and talked to Disney to see if there was interest in a joint project. They brought me stills from the film and arranged for a screening in New York.''
Ruttenstein invited designers to the screening who then created affordable clothes and accessories based on Madonna's costumes. They watched for 20 minutes, he said, and loved what they saw.
``We've always used Victor Costa for inspirational clothes,'' said Ruttenstein, meaning clothes that capture the flavor of a certain person or situation. ``We didn't copy anything, but we used details like hemlines, necklines, trim.''
So Victor Costa came up with a glamorous, bejeweled ivory and gold gown, Evita's ``coronation'' dress, tagged at $650.
Nicole Miller made a line of handbags and dresses, and Elie Tahari designed suits with narrow, calf-length skirts, jackets with padded shoulders and nipped waists. The hats are from Deborah Rhodes: veiled and feathered band-like hats that were all the rage 50 years ago.
There's a long black tango dress from ABS USA, and black suede pumps with white-kid trim by Ferragamo, the company that shod Eva Pern. There are fake mink stoles by Adrienne Landau ($295), and Cejon ($100).
Carolee, the costume jewelry maker, contributes a copy of Evita's legendary five-strand pearls ($110).
There's even a line of makeup called ``The Face of Evita,'' by Estee Lauder, with bold, red lipsticks.
Ruttenstein expects the Evita mood to outlast the movie.
``The little sleeveless Jackie O A-line dress has had its moment,'' he said. ``Women want a little more glamour, a little more polish, more dressing up.''
Eva Peron loved to dress up. She had risen from poverty to become one of the most powerful women of the 20th century. She was as ambitious as she was beguiling, and remains a highly controversial figure in Argentina.
Some still feel she was a bush-leaguer who slept her way to the top. Others considered her saintly for her devotion to the poor.
At 15, Eva Maria Duarte ran off with a tango singer, and went on to become a radio actress. She was 23 when she became the mistress of Col. Juan Domingo Peron, then a rising star in the Argentine military.
They married in 1946. A year later, he was elected president. Evita, as her countrymen would come to call her, took on an active political role, unprecedented for a first lady at that time.
She gave speeches that drew huge crowds, and established the Eva Peron Foundation.
But she contracted cancer, and died in 1952, whispering to her husband on her deathbed: ``What I don't want is for people to forget me, Juan.''
They never did forget her or the way she dressed.
Peron had her body embalmed and put on display. But he was soon toppled, and the body disappeared for 15 years.
It now is buried in the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires, in a far-off corner of the lavishly appointed cemetery in the Duarte family crypt.r
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