Signed 'Graffiti' Gown to Make Rounds
PORT HURON, Mich. -- A "Hollywood Graffiti" gown signed by more than 350 stars, including Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn, has kicked off the first leg of its world tour at a Michigan museum. The gown, designed by Randy McLaughlin and Jerry Skeels, was displayed at the Port Huron Museum Saturday and Sunday. The worldwide tour will take it to Trinidad and Tobago, India and Austria for Vienna's Life Ball, one of Europe's largest AIDS fund-raisers. In two years, the dress will be auctioned off for a minimum bid of $1 million, but McLaughlin said the final offer could be much higher. Proceeds from the gown's sale will be used for AIDS research. McLaughlin and Skeels run Jeran Design in Los Angeles and have a shop in West Hollywood, Calif. Their work has been featured in magazines such as Esquire and Playboy. Last June, the pair received the fashion industry's 2004 Golden Needle Humanitarian Award, honoring them for their support of AIDS awareness, education and prevention.