May 14, 2002/ FWD/ -- To all those who proudly sported Lacoste on sunny Connecticut tennis courts in the '70s, it's time for a toast.

The crocodile-emblemed (don't dare call it an alligator) French label, which had a wobbly kitsch comeback a couple years back, is now devoid of irony, and entirely cool again.

Besides its edgy new ad campaign, shot by Wong Kar-Wai, the label has now introduced a series of limited edition polo shirts, as well as some custom-made by celebs like Chloe Sevigny, Patricia Field, Sarah Jessica Parker, Debi Mazar, Shalom Harlow, Matt Damon, Christina Ricci, Francesco Scavullo, Claudia Schiffer, and the late Kevyn Aucoin.

And at a party held last night on the ground floor of Barneys - an event that attracted the likes of Ali Larter, Devon Aoki, Stephen Dorff, Damon Dash, Chloe and Paul Sevigny, Anna Paquin, and UNICEF spokesperson Vendela -- the specially-designed "12.12" polo shirts were silently auctioned off, with all proceeds going to benefit the U .S. Fund for UNICEF.

"I haven't yet decided which one I'm going to bid on," admitted Helena Christensen, dressed in Marni pin-stripe pants and a Dries Van Noten terrycloth top. "I got a good look at them, though - we were the first ones here," she added, referring to her boyfriend Norman Reedus and their (expectedly) gorgeous two year-old son Mingus, who, in dancing to the hip-hop spinnings and mugging for all the cameras, was the star of the party. (note: the couple is looking for a baby-sitter).

"He likes it here," stated Reedus. "We took him to a party for Iman and he hated it."

Also turning the party into a family affair was design wunderkind Zac Posen, who arrived with his mom, Susan, and bee-lined it to the shirt display.

"I wanna bid on my own," he admitted. But the kid's valiant efforts to raise money for charity were in vain, the bid for his polo design (a white leather shirt embossed to look like alligator skin) was already far higher (at $500) than Sarah Jessica Parker's child-scrawled "UNICEF" design, Tea Leoni's tee with two crocs seemingly getting it on, or even Aucoin's sparkly black, red and green creation.

The limited edition black series (212 for men, 212 for women), as well as a limited-edition silver series, are available exclusively at Barneys New York.