JAMIE LEE CURTIS AND PAMELA DENNIS
"Anything you want!" That was Pamela Dennis's breathless reply five years ago when Jamie Lee Curtis first called. Curtis, who had spotted a crystal-studded Dennis gown in a magazine layout, wanted the designer to whip up an eye-catching wardrobe for Cannes. Soon the New Jersey-born Dennis was not only outfitting Curtis in body-clinging finery but raking in other famous customers, including Sarah Ferguson (the Duchess of York) and Whitney Houston. Dennis, 36, credits Curtis's "body of a goddess" for making her designs look good: "Jamie's got the most beautiful bust, the most beautiful waist. When she wears my clothes, her own style exudes through them." But Curtis, 38, believes Dennis's matte jersey dresses and pinstripe suits work their own magic. "She makes me feel like an elegant person, despite my normal wear, which is a pair of jeans and a T-shirt," says the star. Best of all, Dennis "is very accessible," adds Curtis. "I can call her and say, 'Here's what I'm doing. Is there anything in your line that you think would be pretty?' " Dennis still gets breathless from those conversations. Curtis "just has to slap me in the face a few times to get me to relax," she says.
SHARON STONE AND VERA WANG
The five-year association between designer and actress has turned Sharon Stone into a pillar of sleek, contemporary style. Wang "thinks like a painter and constructs her designs with the sense of a modern architect," says Stone, 39. "The form gracefully and tastefully follows function." And Wang, 48, follows orders. Stone always insists, " 'Vera, I've gotta be able to walk. You've got to give me some leg room here, says Wang. "I'll recut it as many times as I have to to get it right." Their teaming isn't always perfect, though. When Stone wore a Gap mock turtleneck to the Oscars in 1996, a Wang gown was waiting at home. "She didn't feel confident in it," says Wang, who won't describe the dress. "She said we were like Kitty Hawk, and the plane didn't take off." Still, they're forging ahead. "We have a new mood coming up," says Wang. "I can't say what, and I don't know where it's going to be worn, but it's a 180-degree turn."
MICHELLE PFEIFFER AND GIORGIO ARMANI
As a busy actress and mother of two, Pfeiffer doesn't always give much thought to clothes. "I once saw Michelle Pfeiffer at a party, and she had on a ratty black sweater, black jeans and some fringed, scuffed boots," Allure editor-in-chief Linda Wells recently informed her readers. So when it comes to dressing for Hollywood events, Pfeiffer, 39, takes a surefire approach. An Armani "is always the first thing she would ever put on," says stylist L'Wren Scott, who has dressed the actress for photo shoots. "She knows there's not a single thing that Mr. Armani would ever design that she wouldn't look good in." That pleases Armani, 63, who, ever since meeting her at a Venice premiere in 1990, considers Pfeiffer his muse. "She is a woman," he says, "who can bring to life even the simplest outfit, but who is absolutely incapable of sacrificing her personality on the altar of fashion."
BROOKE SHIELDS AND HEIDI WEISEL
There was a time when nothing came between Brooke and her Calvins. But she grew up—and when she needed something new for a 1995 charity event, a friend brought her to Heidi Weisel's New York City showroom, Shields was hooked. "Her designs are simple and elegant," she says. "I love wearing Heidi's clothes." Shields has even worn them on her NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan and for her April wedding to tennis ace Andre Agassi. Weisel, 36, who has also dressed Elizabeth Hurley and Candice Bergen, says that "it's thrilling" to see Shields, 32, in her designs: "She's a great role model because she's not rail thin. She's fit, has a toned athletic body, and it's so nice to dress somebody like that."
LAUREN HOLLY AND VALENTINO
Their paths crossed just once, but the encounter was perfect. A clotheshorse known to wear Gucci and Chanel, the soon-to-be-former Mrs. Jim Carrey, 33, isn't loyal to any designer. For Oscar night this year, she called in nearly 100 dresses, but the one she liked best was a chiffon Valentino. "It was sexy yet sophisticated," says stylist Phillip Bloch, who dressed her for the occasion. "It wasn't a bimbo dress." The Rome-based designer, 65, considered it the ultimate compliment. "She is beautiful and has an unbelievable body," he says. "The dress enhances the bosom, is embroidered in a modern way." Valentino finally met Holly at the awards ceremony, and she expressed her delight with the gown. It could be, Valentino hopes, the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
VIVICA A. FOX AND KIM DENMAN
When it comes to clothes, Vivica A. Fox plays it fast and loose. The Independence Day actress likes crushed red velvet, ostrich cuffs and black lace over pink silk—though not all at once. Which makes her a perfect fit with Kim Denman, 37, a London native who takes her cues from the sparkling costumes of European rock. The two collaborated last spring when Fox, 33, received a last-minute invitation to the Oscars from Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman. Stylist Petra Pfaffli called in all the top designers, but it was Denman's gold lace gown that clung faithfully to Fox's curves. "Kim makes her dresses with support, for the voluptuous, crazy-loving girls," says Fox. Denman, who operates an L.A. boutique called Goddess and counts Pamela Anderson and Rosanna Arquette among her devotees, appreciates customers who aren't afraid to dazzle. Fox is "prepared to be out there, which is what I love," says Denman. "She's got that attitude."
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