Armani crafts special ensemble\nNEW YORK -- Giorgio Armani has a new muse: Barbie. \nArmani has created a strapless, silk chiffon top and crepe skirt embellished with dark beads and covered with sparkle tulle for the 11 1/2-inch doll. Both pieces are taupe. An evening purse, also in taupe crepe and dripping with beads, a matching necklace and earrings complete the outfit.\nBut couture fashion doesn't come cheap. The price of the limited-edition Armani Barbie, due in stores in September: $134.99.\nThe Milan, Italy-based designer is donating his royalties to YouthAIDS, a global initiative to educate and protect at-risk youth from HIV infection, and Room to Grow, which works to improve the lives of babies born into poverty.\nThe ensemble was inspired by a gown that's part of an exhibit, curated by New York's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, which is touring Europe. \nBarbie debuted in 1959 as a teenage fashion model. More than 50 designers, including Bill Blass, Calvin Klein and Vera Wang, have designed items for the Mattel doll.
Liz Taylor sued by fired landscaper \nLOS ANGELES -- A landscaper once employed by Elizabeth Taylor has sued the actress alleging he was wrongfully terminated after turning down a sexual advance from another employee.\nWillem Van Muyden's civil suit, filed in city court last week, also named Taylor's house manager and butler, Jean-Luc Lacquement, 34, as a defendant.\nA message left for Taylor's publicist, Richard Hoffman, was not immediately returned Saturday. A telephone listing for Lacquement could not be found.\nVan Muyden said in court documents Lacquement made a sexual advance toward him in July 2002 in the kitchen of Taylor's home.\nVan Muyden said he pushed Lacquement away. \nAn accounting clerk for Taylor sent Van Muyden a letter in September 2002, telling him that he and his ex-wife were terminated, court documents said.
Springer to decide soon on Senate run\nCOLUMBUS, Ohio -- TV talk show host Jerry Springer will decide in the next few days whether to trade his trash-talking, chair-tossing TV guests for a run at a U.S. Senate seat next year.\nSpringer has spent the last six months traveling Ohio to gauge his support among Democratic voters for the seat held by Republican George Voinovich.\nHe had planned to announce his plans Friday but needs more time to decide, spokesman Dale Butland said.\nSpringer, 59, a former Cincinnati mayor, might face an uphill campaign trail if he runs. State Sen. Eric Fingerhut of Cleveland already is seeking the nomination, and a poll released by the University of Cincinnati.
