Willi’s Day

Friends and fans are keeping the memory of Willi Smith alive. The designer of WilliWear, who died of AIDS this spring, will be the subject of a $100-per-person gala fashion show and retrospective at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles on Nov. 12. Julia Wilson, who promotes Third World fashion talent through her L.A. firm, Fashion Across America, announced the gala at a recent fashion-industry gathering in Marina del Rey. Circulating in the crowd, Listen noticed Karl Logan, Ron Finley and Carl Jones--three young L.A. designers who will be among those featured in the show. The gala will benefit a scholarship fund for minority fashion students. Mayor Bradley has proclaimed Nov. 12 Willi Smith Day in Los Angeles. That’s quite a feat, for a New Yorker.

Facial Facts

Acting can be devilishly difficult. Ask Jack Nicholson, who dropped into the Georgette Klinger salon in Beverly Hills recently, complaining that “The Witches of Eastwick” had been hard on his complexion. He not only wanted to get his face in shape, he “needed to relax,” according to the shop’s manager, Patricia Lyndon. While he was being pampered, no one broke the house rule and asked for an autograph. But Lyndon did tell Nicholson a little secret: Her boyfriend does a wicked imitation of him. “He was charming,” she tells Listen. And smartly dressed too, in baggy ‘30s-style trousers, a blazer and colorful print socks. We hope Nicholson’s dentist was impressed with the wardrobe and complexion. He was headed there next.

Franklin Fake

We shudder to think what the late duchess would say if she knew that one of her precious, custom-made bracelets is about to be reproduced by the Franklin Mint and sold to the callous masses. Janet Long, of the Philadelpha-based firm that makes collectibles, tells us the mint acquired one of Wallis Simpson’s cherished “panther” bracelets at Sotheby’s heralded Geneva sale. The original piece has two confronting panther heads set with ruby eyes and two tapered hardwood sections forming the bracelet. Long says the mint’s version will be reproduced from a mold “pulled from the original, in striking 22-karat gold electroplate, set with gemstone eyes.” It will sell for “under $300.” National ads will break in September.