By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 29, 2002
Forget about a fruit basket. Today’s stars expect to be treated to a lot more when they appear on awards shows. And MTV delivers.
All the celebrities presenting awards and performing tonight at the MTV Video Music Awards will receive a 4-foot-by-4-foot trunk crammed with 240 pounds of goodies–including Eberjey lingerie, a Polaroid Mio camera, Anna Suit cosmetics, a Bulova watch and Godiva chocolates–worth more than $18,000.
“We produced 110 trunks and customized them for the celebrities,” says On 3 Productions’ Samantha Haft, who collaborated with Backstage Creations and the Ultimate Basket to put together the rock ‘n’ roll goodie bags. “We had all their sizes, so we knew who needed a Size 11 shoe and who needed a Size 0 top.”
Haft wouldn’t divulge the sizes. She did say the logo for the trunks was designed by artist Peter Max.
“We like to create unique baskets full of things that everyone will like,” she says. “But we also want to introduce the celebrities to new companies they may not be familiar with yet.”
Kirsten Dunst, Brittany Murphy, Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne are among the hotties who will be treated to T-shirts from Franky and Minx. The designer’s new lingerie line is creating quite the buzz with its tattoo-print panties.
“We like to have fun with our products,” says co-founder Heidi Minx. “A lot of people are interested in tattoos, but not everyone wants to go out and get one. Our line lets you get a tattoo feel without necessarily dealing with the permanence. I don’t believe in targeting a certain audience, so I say our clothes are for anyone who has a sense of humor.”
Franky and Minx has made custom tank tops for Christina Aguilera and Alanis Morissette.
Sold at boutiques nationwide, the line is coming to the Chicago area next month. Check www.fran- kyandminx.com for store updates.
