Randy Who? -- Hillary Clinton Chooses Designer Randy Kemper

Barbara Bush had her Arnold Scassi.

Nancy Reagan had her Adolfo.

Jacqueline Kennedy had her Halston and her Cassini.

And Rosalynn Carter had . . . well, never mind who Carter had.

Now Hillary Clinton, whose mid-campaign makeover made headlines everywhere, has decreed her preference for a designer worthy of the first lady.

And the winner is - Randy Kemper.

"Who?"

That's the reaction even on New York's Seventh Avenue, where Kemper has been fashion's best-kept secret, even though his colorful clothes have adorned the celebrity bods of Faith Daniels, Katie Couric and Sally Jessy Raphael.

The designer, 33, has been turning out some of the best and least expensive sportswear around since 1987. But he keeps a low profile. He appears only rarely at fashion parties and has never staged a fashion show.

All that is changing since word leaked out that Clinton was considering a Kemper design for the Jan. 20 inaugural ceremonies.

Her Headband Highness has a fondness for his bright and flattering designs, which she discovered at her favorite Little Rock boutique.

She wore Kemper's double-breasted red suit with red-and-black buttons several times during the campaign, as well as a pin-stripe suit and a plaid suit in black, pink and lime green.

"She has been buying my clothes off the rack for two years," Kemper said last week. "She wore them all through the campaign, and it was really kind of exciting for me. Now that she's the president-elect's first lady, it has really gotten even more exciting."

And how!

Kemper, who grew up in Wynnewood, Pa., is hot, hot, hot. National magazines are fighting for interviews. Television cameras descend on his showroom daily. Bergdorf Goodman, the ever-so-tony New York store that sells the best of high fashion, has made an appointment to see his line. Boutiques from California to Virgina are clamoring for his designs. And at a Vogue cocktail party last week, formerly standoffish folks were suddenly awfully friendly.

"It's pretty unbelievable," is Kemper's reaction to all the brouhaha.

Why Kemper?

Clinton's wardrobe consultant Cliff Chally says one of the strongest selling points of Kemper's clothes is that they are not priced to the stratosphere, like so many designer ensembles.

"His clothes are well cut, he uses very good fabric and somehow he is able to keep them very affordable," Chally said in a recent telephone interview from Hollywood, where he is the costume designer for CBS-TV's "Designing Women" and "Hearts Afire."

"The price is important to her (Clinton). I think you and the rest of the country will find that she is not an extravagant woman. She likes a good value," Chally said.

Kemper's clothes are a far cry from the $1,500 Adolfo suits and $5,000 Galanos dresses favored by Nancy Reagan. His forte is soft skirts and silk blouses, which start at about $150, and tailored suits, which go for up to $450. His love for bright colors is reflected in his fall collection, which features ensembles in black, white and yellow vertigo prints.

This year, the Randy Kemper Co. had sales - to the likes of Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales and Philadelphia's Nan Duskin - of $10 million.

None of Seattle's department stores carries the line; in fact, none had even heard of him. But Lynn Neil, a sales associate at Helen's Of Course in downtown Seattle, said the shop carried his clothes several years ago and that she bought a couple of pieces. "I still wear them and get complimented all the time," she said. "They are very well made and were very well-priced. I'd call them classic with a twist."

Tom Marotta, Duskin's buyer, said Kemper's clothes are popular with young working women because they are ultramodern and ultrawearable.

"His things are not as avant-garde as a Todd Oldham or a Perry Ellis; it's a cleaner line," Marotta said.

Kemper's path to the White House started in Wynnewood; as a boy, he would accompany an aunt to the Christian Dior house in Paris for her seasonal shopping. After high school, Kemper entered New York's Parson School of Design.

He dropped out after a year, took off for Paris and got a job working with couture designer Hubert de Givenchy. Two years later he returned to the United States to work for Bill Blass. Then he and his sister, a Wall Street financier, founded his business with a silent backer.

Clinton discovered Kemper's rags at Barbara Jean Ltd., a Little Rock boutique she has patronized since the early 1980s.

"His clothes fit her well and she likes colors and he does lots of colors," said boutique owner Barbara Jean Baber.

Baber said Clinton, a size 8, purchased several Kemper outfits during the last few months, after seeing them at a trunk-show benefit for the Arkansas Children's Hospital. "They suit her," said Baber.

Clinton wardrobe honcho Chally said his team decided a few months ago - about the time Clinton underwent a drastic makeover from severe, lawyer-style clothes to soft, suburban-working-wife wear - that the Kemper line was perfect for the campaign trail.

"Kemper's clothes are practical and easy and uncomplicated - and that is who she is," said Chally.

Clinton has requested more clothes, particularly ensembles that include overcoats. Kemper said he sent a selection to be perused for inaugural events. While Kemper has dressed the first lady in waiting, he has never met her.

As he continues to work for Clinton, he said he would not suggest any radical makeovers.

"She obviously knows what she likes and she is an intelligent woman. She should continue to wear very clean, sophisticated suits because she has to remain sophisticated. She represents women of our country for the rest of the world," he said.

Movie-star handsome and standing more than 6 feet tall, Kemper is an extremely friendly designer more apt to be dressed in motorcycle pants, stretch pants or jeans with a sweater than button-down attire.

"I'm more downtown than uptown," Kemper says.

In an interview last month at a Council of Fashion Designers of America party, Kemper said he was ready for something new. "I've been going about things really quietly, but it's time for a change. I think 1993 is going to be my year.

"But," said Kemper, who plans to stage his first fashion show in the spring, "I didn't expect it to happen this quickly."