DATELINE NEW YORK: Update on fashion, entertainment (10/15/00)

DATELINE NEW YORK: Update on fashion, entertainment

by Helen Smindak

The world of high fashion

At a time when leather wear is all the rage with both men and women, Stefan Hankewycz of New York is realizing a lifelong dream. He is making a bid to make his leather designs known and coveted in the world of high fashion. Backed by 18 years' experience as a designer and merchandiser for such distinguished firms as Bruno Magli, Bally of Switzerland and Alfred Dunhill of London, Mr. Hankewycz took a bold step several months ago and opened his own company - Stefano Peruzzi Inc. - to create and sell top-quality Italian-made leather apparel and accessories.

The smartly styled leather creations of this fashion designer have already been snapped up by such specialty stores as Gary's of Newport Beach, Arthur Beren in San Francisco, Via Veneto in Las Vegas, Brady's of San Diego and Scarpa of Costa Rica. Primarily featuring women's leather fashions and accessories, the Stefano Peruzzi line also includes styles in suede and nubuck, as well as leather jackets and goods for men.

"Dateline New York" got an exclusive look at these new fashions recently at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel, where Mr. Hankewycz was showing his line to the trade. The designer brought out one sophisticated creation after another, enthusiastically pointing out the sleek body-hugging silhouette of a jacket or the flap pockets on a smart blazer, while his wife Mira Hnatkiwsky Hankewycz took care of the modeling chores for this occasion.

The Stefano Peruzzi line includes women's coats, jackets, vests, pants and skirts, all in marvelously lightweight, buttery-soft leather with a delicate sheen. There are styles and lengths to suit a variety of personalities and moods - from a sporty biker jacket to a classic knee-length belted coat with a removable fox collar, both shown in black leather. Some styles come in a range of colors, including yellow, red, lavender, pink and white; a python print in aqua and brown dramatically reveals the popular trend toward reptile prints. Sizes are 2 to 14 regular and 2 to 8 in petites, with prices ranging from $1,000 to $1,500. The handbag selection, showing the same high quality of workmanship as the apparel, retails from $450 to $1,000.

Styles for men include a classic bomber jacket, a sport coat, a four-button open patch sport coat and a four-button straight flap coat, as well as belts and wallets. The same zest and energy that made Mr. Hankewycz a popular summertime bartender and chef's assistant at Soyuzivka years ago now carry him through three or four trade shows a season (New York, Las Vegas and San Francisco), trips to Italy for conferences with stylists and tannery owners, and the day-to-day work of dreaming up styles and handling business chores. He works out of his home in Bayside, Queens ("Today, with fax, cell phone and computer, it really doesn't matter where you work," Mr. Hankewycz says), enthusiastically supported by his wife and two teenage children, Roman and Adrianna.

The Italian connection? Mr. Hankewycz comes by it through right of parentage. His Ukrainian father, once exiled to Siberia for seven years for "nationalistic activities," met and married Anna Peruzzi in Italy after World War II. They moved to this country after years of diligent correspondence uncovered other members of the large Hankewycz family in the United States.

Though born in New York, Mr. Hankewycz chose the name Stefano Peruzzi for his company by combining his given first name and the maiden name of his mother, a seamstress who fashioned garments for many famous families of pre-war Tuscany - the Bertelli, Moretti, Ganotti, Canneshi and Pichi families - and sewed all the clothing for her own seven children.

For information about stores that carry the Stefano Peruzzi label, phone/fax (718) 224-4489, or visit the website www.stefanoperuzzi.com.

Bravos for Koptchak, Plishka

Appearing in the Metropolitan Opera's opening night performance of "Don Giovanni" with an exceptional cast that included Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel, baritone Sergei Koptchak won this commendation from The New York Times critic Bernard Holland: "Sergei Koptchak (was) a deeply eloquent Commendatore."

Just a few days later, bass Paul Plishka was praised by the Times' Anthony Tomassini for his work as Prince Calaf's blind and helpless exiled father in the season premiere of "Turandot." Wrote Mr. Tomassini: "The always dependable bass Paul Plishka was a resonant-voiced and pitiable Timur." Mr. Plishka continues to sing in "Turandot" this month and next, returning in February, March and April for roles in "Manon" and "Il Trovatore."

In March, soprano Maria Guleghina is scheduled to bow in a new production premiere of Verdi's "Nabucco" and tenor Vladimir Grishko will appear as the Reckless Gambler in Prokofiev's "The Gambler," a 20th century work never before performed by the Met.

Movies and mini-series

Two actresses with Ukrainian backgrounds appear in the cast of a new independent movie "Dummy": Kyiv-born Milla Jovovich, who has a well-established career as a model, actress and singer, and newcomer Vera Farmiga of New Jersey. Shot last summer in Whitestone, Queens (and not yet released), "Dummy" is the tale of Steven Schoichet, a maladroit suburbanite whose life is transformed when he comes into possession of a ventriloquist's prop. Ms. Farmiga portrays his crush, Lorena.

MGM's publicity agency in New York, Wolfe-Kasteller, was strangely elusive about releasing info on Ms. Farmiga, saying only that "both parents are Ukrainian, and Vera spoke only Ukrainian for the first six years of her life." From other sources, "Dateline" learned that the New Jersey actress appeared in three movies that were released in August, one of them the 1940s-style tear jerker "Autumn in New York." Starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, the film has a subplot involving Gere's reconciliation with his grown daughter, played by Ms. Farmiga.

Ms. Jovovich is the L'Oreal face who started modeling at 11, was doing Avedon covers for Vogue four years later and then transformed herself into an eerily plausible alien in Luc Besson's science fiction movie "The Fifth Element." After that she became a 15th century farm girl in "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc." Ms. Jovovich has the role of Fangora, a riot-girl type in "Dummy." The supermodel/actress was recently cast with movie star Gary Oldham in a series of sultry print ads pushing Donna Karan's fall collection.

Watch for Manya, a beautiful escapee from five concentration camps, played by Tamara Gorski, in the new four-hour mini-series coming up on CBS titled "Haven." Based on a true story about Ruth Gruber, a Brooklyn woman who brought the only Holocaust refugees to the United States for temporary safe haven, the series stars Natasha Richardson and Anne Bancroft and Canadian actor Henry Czerny. Ms. Gorski, a Winnipeg native of Ukrainian ancestry, appeared in the films "Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris" and "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" and has been featured in the "Hercules" TV series.

The buzz on showbiz

Actress Christina Pawl (Pawlyshyn), a superbly sinuous Kit Kat girl in the long-running Broadway show "Cabaret," has opted for the classics. She left the "Cabaret" cast early this year to begin six months of rehearsal with the Denver Center Theatre Company in Sir Peter Hall's production of the Greek myth "Tantalus." As part of the chorus, Ms. Pawl is involved in a monumental work tracing the events of the Trojan war, presented in 10 entirely new plays with powerful drama, music and dance. On stage for the entire 10 1/2 hours, the masked chorus members use stylized body positions and hand movements.

Now being previewed at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts,"Tantalus" will premiere a six-week engagement on October 21. Performances are scheduled in a two-day pattern that has Part I beginning at 2 p.m., followed by dinner in the Grand Ballroom and Part II in the evening, with Part III viewed on the following evening. The entire cycle will be performed in a single day on three occasions only. The marathon production will begin a tour in England in January 2001.

While the curtain has come down on the popular Broadway show "Footloose," its very likable and limber star Jeremy Kushnier has not hung up his dancing shoes. The lad from Winnipeg is continuing his showbiz career as one of the leads in a new musical, "The Rhythm Club," now playing in Washington. Mr. Kushnier and "The Rhythm Club" are due to arrive in New York in February 2001.

Tannis Kowalchuk, actress and co-director with husband Brad Krumholz of the North American Cultural Laboratory, an experimental theater group, is among the principals in "Arca Nova," a multi-layered theatrical commentary on the biblical book of "Genesis." Described as a "stunning theatrical voyage," the NaCl production opened October 12 at Washington Square Church, 135 W. Fourth St. (near Sixth Avenue) and will run Wednesday to Saturday until the 28th. Together, the audience and the actors board an ark, where the ship's crew/actors proceed to act out a series of scenes and stories from "Genesis" with singing, dancing, music and stilt-walking.

Last month the Peter Jarema Funeral Home on East seventh Street in the East Village, where the surrounding Ukrainian community holds its wakes, became the scene of a one-night "Imitation of Christ" show staged by Tara Subkoff. Although Ms. Subkoff asserted that the show was, in fact, "an homage and celebration of Christ," the Catholic League and local Ukrainians protested. A self-described community spokesperson told the New York Post's showbiz columnist Jared Paul Stern: "We're upset because we consider it sacrilegious. We feel it's so wrong to have this anti-Christ exhibit there." At last word, local leaders were still deciding what action to take. We'll keep you posted.

Helen Smindak's e-mail address is: HaliaSmindak@aol.com.

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