Tastemaker

FROM THE NY POST:

May 20, 2006 -- Tommy Hilfiger really showed his "Appetite for Destruction" yesterday when he pummeled Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose in a dispute over a VIP table at Rosario Dawson's birthday party, sources said. The midnight turf battle erupted when Axl moved Hilfiger's girlfriend's drink in the banquette area of The Plumm nightclub on West 14th Street - where the "Rent" actress was celebrating her 27th birthday. A densely packed crowd of celebs - including Lenny Kravitz and Kid Rock - had ringside seats to the battle. The feisty fashionista was acting all gangsta, hitting Axl with a flurry of punches, one that landed under Rose's eye.

"First [Axl and Tommy] were sitting. Then they were pulling on each other . . . It got so out of control," said a shocked witness. As the punch-up escalated, Hilfiger introduced Rose to some "November Pain" with a blow to the cheek. Club guards quickly tried to separate the men. "A bunch of security ran over - but Tommy would not back down. He was just out to take him down," the witness said. "Kid Rock got trampled by people running over. It was unbelievable." Eventually, the designer's own bodyguard pulled him out of the club.

Yesterday, club owner Noel Ashman pointed the finger at Hilfiger: "Axl was a gentleman and had the good sense not to retaliate, as he would have done some serious damage to Hilfiger." Rose said the attack was unprovoked, in an interview with The Post in his dressing room.

The singer said Hilfiger may have been angry because he'd been told to move to make room for Rose and his entourage. Rose described Hilfiger as "foaming at the mouth."

When Rose took the stage a few minutes later to perform the song "You're Crazy," he dedicated it "to my good friend Tommy Hilfiger."