Uncovering the Dress Code

No, it wasn’t an autograph party for her new book, “Sex.”

Madonna simply did what no charity’s honorary chairperson has done in the history of fund-raisers. Not only did she not give a speech, she removed her jacket and bared her breasts for an audience of nearly 6,000 at a fund-raiser for AmFAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research) Thursday night at the Shrine Auditorium.

The video picture, magnified on two gigantic screens, also included her smile with a metal cap on one front tooth.

Gee, thanks, Madonna, we needed that.

One could only wonder what Elizabeth Taylor, AmFAR’s founding national chairman, would think when news traveled to her in Bel-Air.

Until that moment, the highlight of the evening was a Jean Paul Gaultier (rhymes with L.A.) fashion show bordering on the theater of the absurd.

The outrageous Paris designer with the peroxided buzz cut is known for his daring designs and Fellini-esque staging. He also provided Madonna with the wardrobe for her 1990 Blond Ambition tour and made a cameo appearance in her 1991 documentary, “Truth or Dare.”

Gaultier brought his most imaginative and indescribable showpieces to L.A.--1 1/2 hours worth of them--and sent them down the runway on models svelte and rotund, long-haired and bald, tattooed and pierced. The audience reserved its biggest shrieks for Faye Dunaway and Raquel Welch, Billy Idol and Dr. Ruth, who modeled a black rubber nurse’s uniform.

Before the show began, Madonna, surrounded by her entourage and a beefy bodyguard, sat in a box with her back to the audience. Masses of photographers, frankly more interested in her than in the runway, kept flashing their strobes toward the blond ringlets, not knowing if she would make a proper appearance so they could go home with pictures.

Among Gaultier’s more unusual looks were a “body condom” in black and white houndstooth, unisex tuxedos covering no more skin than a long-sleeved leotard, backless and bottomless overalls, women’s tops with baby-bottle rubber nipples, a gauzy white dress whose train extended to become part of the theater curtain, a feather duster hat complete with wood handle and a simple tailored women’s pantsuit whose backside resembled a furry toilet seat cover.

Some in the audience, including Warner Bros. chairman Bob Daly, did not look amused.

For $500-ticket holders, including David Geffen, Ted Field, Marky Mark, Jackie Collins, Beverly Johnson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sylvie Vartan and Freddy de Mann, the evening began with a cozy touch. Dinner--couscous, spinach souffle, lamb chops, salmon, sauteed bananas over vanilla ice cream--was served family style in a large hall of the Shrine.

“There’s a great spirit happening,” said photographer Herb Ritts, the event chairman. “The energy that’s here is important to make people aware of the cause and to keep the funding expanding so we can put this disease behind us.”

Since its founding seven years ago, AmFAR has raised some $48 million. Thursday’s event was expected to raise $1 million.