Fall Debut for 24-Hour Fashion Channel

FASHION and Design Television (FAD TV), the new 24-hour cable network devoted to clothing, travel, and entertainment, will launch the channel's original-programming campaign by providing extensive coverage of the Milan and Paris fall designer collections.

FAD TV, which is scheduled to be launched during the fourth quarter of 1994 and reach an initial 2 million to 3 million homes, is the world's first fashion television network to cover the pageantry and hoopla that characterize the European collections. The designs on those runways set the styles for international fashion.

All coverage of show events, including backstage segments and interviews with designers, supermodels, makeup artists, and hair stylists will be on 16mm film rather than videotape to ensure the ``glossy'' look and presentation that FAD TV hopes will become its hallmark.

The Milan fashion shows ended yesterday and the Paris shows begin tomorrow and continue through March 12. Among the latest fashions that will be profiled will be those of Giorgio Armani, Romeo Gigli, Gianni Versace, Valentino, Claude Montana, Christian La Croix, Comme des Garcons, and Vivienne Westwood, as well as numerous other top designers.

The producers clearly hope FAD TV will become a fixture on the pop-culture landscape, much the way Music Television (MTV) did in the early 1980s. Robert Altman is filming ``Pret-a-Porter,'' a murder mystery set in the glamorous Parisian fashion world, which centers around a reporter from FAD TV (played by Kim Basinger) looking for a big scoop.

The channel will also feature interior design, exotic travel destinations, and photography workshops with leading photographers.

Acquisitive viewers will be able to buy designer clothing and accessories through a home-shopping service.