Gregory Peck's "To Kill a Mockingbird" specs shine on a stamp, and in a fundraiser for the Los Angeles Public Library

It's been 50 years since Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 1963, Gregory Peck won his first Academy Award for his portrayal of lawyer Atticus Finch, in the movie adaptation released the previous year. To honor the late Peck, who passed away in 2003, the United States Post Office is issuing a stamp bearing Peck's likeness as the bespectacled Depression-era civil rights lawyer Finch as part of its "Legends of Hollywood" series on April 28.

And Oliver Peoples in partnership with Peck's son, Anthony Peck, will issue a limited edition of copycat frames with proceeds going in part to benefit the beleagured Los Angeles Public Library, which has had to lay off staff and close all 73 branches on Mondays and Sundays.

Anthony Peck took the original pair of "Mockingbird" eyeglasses to Dennis Leight, a design consultant for Oliver Peoples and brother to founder Larry Leight, to set the wheels for the fundraiser in motion. The frames  will be priced at $315 and will be available at Oliver Peoples boutiques and select stores worldwide in May.

A company spokesman couldn't say to say exactly what percentage of the sale price will go to the library, but the Peck family have been supporters of the public institution for nearly two decades. In 1994, the elder Peck initiated the Gregory Peck Reading Series at Downtown's Central Library. Actors, who have read in the program, include Kevin Spacey, Mark Ruffalo, Shirley Maclaine, Morgan Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Gabriel Byrne and Sharon Stone. On April 28, Stone will be the master of ceremonies at the First Day of Issue ceremony for the commemorative stamp, hosted by the Peck family, Motion Picture Assn. of America head Christopher Dodd, Laura Dern and Morgan Freeman at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.

In 1998, Peck wrote an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times in support of a city library bond proposition: "Since people first began writing down their stories nearly 7,000 years ago, we have needed libraries. The story of who we are is contained in all its amazing variety in the library, and we are fortunate in Los Angeles to have a place of public greatness where this complex, rich and varied story can continue to be told, read and heard."

Anthony Peck is particularly fond of his father's tortoishells specs. "They always represented to me the character he played and that's who he was," he said via phone from Palm Springs. "Harper Lee had a great quote, 'The role of Atticus Finch gave Gregory Peck the chance to play himself.'"

-- Max Padilla

Photos: Courtesy Oliver Peoples

Post-Prada, artist James Jean is again in fashion

James Jean’s illustrations of fairylike deities garnered him a cult following, with comic book fanboys at one end of the spectrum and high-end designer Miuccia Prada at the other. Four years ago, Prada tapped Jean, 31, who lives in Santa Monica, to draw his sprite-like figures for a store mural in the Epicenter stores that ended up livening her spring 2008 collection of apparel and accessories.

The collaboration was so well received that Jean was able to take a break from commissions. “After Prada, I felt like it was the perfect time to retire from doing commercial work and concentrate on my fine art,” he said. Jean’s new work will be exhibited in a show, “Rebus,” opening Saturday at the Martha Otero Gallery and running through April 30. The gallery notes describe his latest work as depicting “fictionalized subconscious representation of deities in an apocalyptic decaying romanticized setting.”

But the Taiwan native is still partial to fashion. In conjunction with the show, he collaborated with brand OVM for a collection of Japanese-made print scarves entitled "Lotus War" featuring his ethereal figures crawling into an anamorphic skull. The silk twill accessories come in a limited edition of 100 for $385 each, available at www.ovmlove.com starting Saturday and through Martha Otero, who can be contacted at gallery@marthaotero.com.

Jean, who has exhibited at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and has work in the permanent collection of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, is still enamored of Prada.  Would he collaborate with the Italian fashion house again? “I would if they asked me,” he said.

The gallery, at 820 N. Fairfax Ave., is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

-- Max Padilla

Scarf photo courtesy of James Jean

Q&A: Firooz Zahedi captures Elizabeth Taylor in pre-revolution Iran

Firooz Zahedi's life was changed by an unofficial photo assignment for a Hollywood legend.

In 1976, Zahedi, a scion of an Iranian political family, had passed up a diplomatic career to try to break into the world of freelance photography. At the time, his cousin, Ardeshir Zahedi, the Iranian ambassador to the United States, happened to be consorting with Elizabeth Taylor and introduced the actress to the young photographer. Subsequently, Taylor was invited on a goodwill visit to Iran and she insisted on taking Firooz Zahedi as a travel companion and photographer.

In Iran, Zahedi shot Taylor amid the ruins of Persepolis, outside the entrance of a mosque in Shiraz and draped in scarves found in Isfahan bazaars. At this point, the two-time Academy Award winner eschewed the conservative Yves Saint Laurent dresses she had worn to state dinners with the shah in favor of T-shirts, peasant blouses and flared jeans. Taylor presaged the trends of today by layering her bazaar finds and chadors over contemporary fashion pieces.

After the trip, Zahedi, who was the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Andy Warhol's Interview, told the artist about the snapshots taken with Taylor in Iran. Warhol decided to plan a cover story on Taylor for Interview around the photos. Not expecting compensation, the budding photographer received a  check for $200 from the notoriously thrifty Warhol -- marking his first big professional break and the start of a successful career.

Since then, Zahedi, based in L.A. since 1978, has gone on to shoot celebrity covers for Vanity Fair, Time and InStyle. Most famously, he lensed the iconic poster for Pulp Fiction featuring Uma Thurman in a black bob, smoking a cigarette.

Zahedi’s photographs of Taylor on that trip are the subject of an exhibition, "Elizabeth Taylor in Iran," opening at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday and scheduled to run through June 12. He invited All the Rage to drink Persian tea at his modern-art festooned Wilshire Corridor condo while chatting about his upcoming show.

All the Rage: How did the show come about?

Zahedi: I was meeting with the curator of the Middle East department at LACMA. We’re trying to form a committee to raise money to buy contemporary Iranian art from contemporary Iranian artists based in Iran. She said, "I’m looking for some photos of Iran in the ’70s, prior to the revolution." I told her I had been there with Elizabeth Taylor [in 1976]. I sent her these photos. She said, "Let’s do a show."

This was pre-revolution, so there wasn’t a strict dress code?

Elizabeth Taylor had come to Washington with a few suitcases and found out that she was going to go to Iran and meet the shah and the empress. And she had no clothes. Saint Laurent had a boutique across from Saks Fifth Avenue in Chevy Chase. I went on her behalf and bought several conservative outfits for the trip like a blazer and some dresses.

Rin Tanaka's Inspiration vintage clothing fair in Long Beach inspires brands, collectors

On Saturday, I checked out the second annual Inspiration Los Angeles vintage clothing fair held at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Inspiration Los Angeles is the brainchild of Rin Tanaka, a fashion journalist who publishes the cult "My Freedamn" book series that meticulously catalogs a wide range of mainly American-made menswear including jeans, biker jackets and surfer T-shirts culled from flea market and antique dealers across the country.

The year's Inspiration Los Angeles was scheduled to take place the same weekend as the Pasadena Rose Bowl flea market and drew about 2,500 international visitors, according to Tanaka, including industry names such as Diesel’s Renzo Rosso, en route to the Diesel Black Gold New York Fashion Week show, and a design team from Amsterdam-based G-Star. Levi’s also used the fair to showcase its $250 U.S.-made 501 Levi's XX collection, constructed with Cone Denim fabric from North Carolina.

“We have no men’s vintage show in the world -- more women’s or costumes,” said Tanaka, who splits his time between Japan and his home in San Clemente, explaining what germinated the fair.

Rosso said he heard from his design team that Inspiration Los Angeles was “unbelievably nice, very cool.  The best items are very expensive but they are interesting for our museum. Vintage always inspires collections not only for Diesel, but, in general, for all fashion giants.”

But what determines what vintage is collectible and what isn't? Feal Mor owner JP Plunier, who displayed his brand's trademark French sailor sweaters, offered this explanation: “Vintage is stuff that works after the trend’s over.”

The big trend revival that I witnessed at the fair was Native American-style prints and clothing from makers ranging from Pendleton and Ralph Lauren, including a denim wrap skirt for about $800 featuring an embroidered leather rustic tableau. But the real visual draw was the crowd pimped out in their finds, including a woman wearing a Raggedy Ann and Andy apron and a man with a handlebar mustache who looked like he could have worked on the crew that built the 75-year-old cruise liner.

-- Max Padilla

 Top photos: Attendees at Inspiration vintage fair. Credit: Summer Browner / Feal Mor

Bottom photo: Rin Tanaka, left, and Max Padilla.

Devendra Banhart bathes and sings in Oliver Peoples' latest short

Los Angeles-based eyewear company Oliver Peoples has been introducing its seasonal eyewear collections with short films to complement its ad campaigns, featuring personalities such as Robert Evans, Zooey Deschanel and Elijah Wood. The fourth effort features nouveau folk-rock crooner Devandra Banhart and his other half, Rebecca Schwartz, in various states of lounge in "Devendra Banhart in the Rainbow House," directed by artist Lisa Eisner.

Eisner said she picked Banhart and Schwartz because she wanted a "real couple, not a fake 'now you two look like you are in love' kind of thing that always looks set up." She said she drew from French New Wave movies, which "are hard not to be inspired by when it comes to sexy and relationships, like Godard's 'Une Femme Mariée' and 'Vivre Sa Vie,' Agnes Varda's 'Le Bonheur' and Eric Rohmer's 'La Collectionneuse.'"

With Banhart's Spanish-language "Brindo" playing in the background, the couple romps and bathes in John Lautner's 1961 marvel, the Rainbow House, named for its arched roof and stained glass windows, built so that motorists on Mulholland Drive could have a clear view through the structure out toward the coastline. (The house made a famous cameo in "Lethal Weapon 2.")

"The Lautner Rainbow house is like a love nest, nestled off of Mulholland Drive with crazy views and crazy sunsets and the sexiest bathtub in the whole world," Eisner said. "The whole wall is a big picture window overlooking Los Angeles."

Banhart and Schwartz are outfitted in shades from Oliver Peoples spring and summer 2011 collection, priced from $285 to $500.

Here's a look at an edited version of the clip, a slightly racier version debuted Wednesday on Nowness.

-- Max Padilla

Video credit: Oliver Peoples via Vimeo

Don't call Rebecca Minkoff's military-inspired men's accessories 'murses'

If you were lucky enough to get an iPad during the holidays, whether as a gift or a gift to yourself, you now have a stylish place to stash it besides an Apple Store neoprene doodad. Because nothing says careless more than a scratched-up screen.

Rebecca Minkoff, who has amassed a following over six years for her colorful hip handbags for gals, now tries to bag guys with a men's accessory collection -- iPad, Kindle and laptop cases plus messenger and gym bags -- out this month. The collection is called Ben Minkoff, named for Rebecca's grandfather, who was a combat fighter pilot during World War II -- so therefore these bags are manly. Keeping with the heritage trend, Ben Minkoff features styles based on Air Force mail and motorcycle bags from that era. The iPad sling is based on a 1940s map bag with a similar functionality. "The Danny iPad sling does not make the guy choose what he'll keep in his pockets and what he'll hand carry," said Minkoff, who hails from San Diego and now lives in New York.

The Intelligentsia Coffee set might opt for the Ben Minkoff signature carryall, the "Nicky" messenger tote, which comes in waxed green canvas with leather trim ($395). Minkoff said the fount of inspiration is the "sense of lax-style chill L.A. men tend to possess." My Ben Minkoff pick is the tartan "Gregger" tote ($395) with leather trim.

Ben Minkoff is available at Bloomingdales.

-- Max Padilla

 Photo: "Danny" iPad tote, $485. Courtesy: Ben Minkoff

Malaysia's In Add Minus tests the waters in L.A.'s Westfield Century City

If you shop at fast-fashion stores for the prices but have a hard time finding a work-appropriate suit or a dress without a loose seam, In Add Minus, a new entry to the field, promises premium fabrics and contemporary style for prices only a heel higher than Zara.

The contemporary boutique chain debuts this week at Westfield Century City with plans for stores in New York in January, then Miami and Costa Mesa in late 2011.

“That’s how we target customers -- better quality, affordable and still trendy as well,” says Nasarudin Nasimuddin, the 27-year-old chairman of the Malaysian company Naza Group, which owns the brand (In Add Minus is an anagram of Nasimuddin). Nasimuddin says In Add Minus is manufactured in Asia but features Italian knits, French fabrics and Japanese denim.  

For fall/winter, In Add Minus offers sweaters, leathers, dresses and blazers. A men’s wool suit from In Add Minus retails for $600, including pants, blazer and shirt. For women, dresses and blouses retail for $100 or less and knitwear is under $200. Leather jackets for both men and women are $395.

Why did Nasiruddin choose the City of Angeles to launch In Add Minus?

“In LA, I found freedom to dress every which way,” says the USC alum, who currently lives in Rancho Palos Verdes. "And I was brought up in a [former] British Colony where everyone is in a suit.”

-- Max Padilla

Photo: The new store. Courtesy of In Add Minus

Mick Rock talks about shooting Bowie, Lady Gaga and why he's collaborating with John Varvatos

On Saturday (Oct. 2), legendary rock ’n’ roll photographer Mick Rock turned the Santa Monica Bloomingdale’s men’s department into a backstage lounge.

Rock, who launched his career in the early ’70s shooting Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, flew out from New York to christen the John Varvatos shop in Bloomies by shooting portraits of shoppers who shelled out more than $250 on Varvatos jeans and Converse sneakers. Rock was also promoting his latest book, “Mick Rock: Exposed,” signing copies for customers.

In a nearly four-decade career, Rock has shot music icons ranging from Lou Reed and Iggy Pop to Madonna, Bono and Lady Gaga. He also dabbles in fashion and has shot Kate Moss, so he’s more than cool with partnering with designer Varvatos. “People say why are you doing this?” he says. “One, John [Varvatos] is a friend of mine. Two, he crossed my palm with some silver. And three, I got a bunch of free clothes.”

Rock chatted with All the Rage, while getting ready for his close-ups.

You've worked with David Bowie since Ziggy Stardust -- in the days before musicians had stylists.
David is much more than music and it always was with him. He was long, long ahead of everybody. He was so prescient. He had influence on all kinds of things like makeup on women – Ziggy Stardust makeup.

Who else did you enjoy working with?
Debbie Harry. In her prime, she was extraordinary -- there’s nobody -- all due respect to Madonna and Lady Gaga.

Kate Moss?
I shot her raw and rock ’n’ roll for V magazine. It was Johnny Rotten meets Debbie Harry.
She’s smart. There’s an old English phrase: There’s no flies on Kate Moss.

What’s the difference between rock ’n’ roll and fashion photography?
Rock ’n’ roll is an attitude. Even though I get people in incredible clothes, it's a lesser concern than the personality.

[In "Mick Rock: Exposed," we look at a suave Bryan Ferry wearing a tropical khaki suit] This is great men’s style.
That was in Holland Park, London, in 1975. Ferry's "our man in Havana" look.

Lady Gaga?
She has an echo of Ziggy Stardust in there. She’s musically talented. It’s a mistake to trivialize her because there’s been so much of it.

[We look at a picture of Ronnie Spector flashing her underwear]
There's Ronnie Spector in her knickers. I might not have published that if she were wearing a thong. It wasn’t about gettng a cheap thrill.

What bands do you enjoy shooting now?
I love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I love the KiIllers. ... I love the Scissor Sisters.

Which of your portraits is John Varvatos' favorite?
Syd Barrett [Pink Floyd's tragic founding member, who passed away in 2006].

-- Max Padilla

Photo: Mick Rock at the John Varvatos event at Bloomingdales. Courtesy John Varvatos

Ed Hardy bows on the big screen in 'Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World.'

Before Ed Hardy became a lifestyle of tattoo-printed T-shirts, $100 embellished trucker hats and, even, wine, Don "Ed" Hardy  was (and still is) a San Francisco-based tattoo artist famous for decades for bringing high-art influences into what was considered a low art. 

The real Don "Ed" Hardy is the subject of the documentary “Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World” and  there's a free screening at the Hammer Museum on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The film explores how Hardy,  who was born in 1945 and raised in Corona del Mar, wanted to be a tattoo artist by the age of 10. "Tattoo the World" features photographs from Hardy's archive of the 10-year-old "tattooing" his Orange County classmates with Maybelline eyeliner and colored pencils. Back then, Hardy was aware that his chosen profession raised eyebrows when it was still seen as either the province of sailors or exotic, underground transgressives. That's what made him want to pursue it even more.

When he was able to practice tattooing, Hardy  quickly set himself apart with a fine-arts background -- he studied printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. In 1973, Hardy began studying traditional tattoo art in Japan. But by the 1990s, the thrill was gone. Hardy said that when tattooing became ubiquitous, "its fad status overwhelmed or negated most of the assumptions on which I based my career." The film also puts in context the oversaturated Ed Hardy brand with Hardy's nonflashy artist lifestyle.

Wonder how Hardy felt when his designs appeared on baby diapers and hand sanitizer?

-- Max Padilla

Video clip from "Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World" courtesy of "Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World" 

Weekend Shopping: A. Kinney Courtyard sale and session, J Brand experts at the new Santa Monica Bloomies

Sales

A. Kinney Court in Venice is holding a Courtyard Session sale on Friday and Sept. 3. Eyewear will be marked down as much as 70% off retail, including makes by Oliver Peoples, Paul Smith, Mosley Tribes, Thierry Lasry, Mykita, KBL and Rare Vinatge. Session music will be provided by DJs Mathieu Schreyer and Osamu, and complimentary wine and beer will be served to over 21s with ID.

1423 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice. (310) 392-3400. 6 to 10 p.m.

Jenny Dayco is having an end-of-summer sale Friday and Saturday  featuring her eponymous jewelry collection at 60% to 70% below retail, with prices starting at $10.

7428 Hollywood Blvd., #305, Los Angeles. (310) 621-0680. Noon to 7 p.m. 

Sample Sales

L.A. designers Kristinit and Anita Arze host a one-day sample sale Sunday at Being in L.A. Spa, with a percentage of sale proceeds donated to Oceana, an oceans advocacy nonprofit. Locally manufactured brand Kristinit was picked as a women’s collection to watch by Lucky Magazine. Choose from the designers’ tops, sweaters, dresses and jumpsuits, priced from $50 to $95 (regular prices $225-$450). Perfumer Sanae Barber will be selling her custom scents, while Being in L.A. is offering spa services such as facials and massages. RSVP to kristina@kristinit.com.

2016 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles. (323) 428-3221. 2 to 8 p.m.

Events

On Saturday,  J Brand, Vogue editor Anna Wintour's favorite blues,  is having a fall fashion preview at the new Santa Monica Place Bloomingdales, Meet Jeff Rudes, the JBrand CEO, who is bringing a denim team to help shoppers find the perfect jean. Buy a J Brand pair and receive a gift with purchase. A drawing will be held for a $1,000 JBrand fashion wardrobe (no purchase necessary to enter).

315 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica. 2 to 4 p.m.

Also on Saturday, Happy LA   is having a third anniversary sale and trunk show featuring brand Paige Premium Denim, Christy’s of London and Bordeaux. Buy three items at the anniversary sale and receive 30% off.

542 1/1 Palisades Dr., Pacific Palisades. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Salon

On Sunday: Frederic Fekkai  wants you to have the red carpet experience if you’re attending the Emmys on Sunday or not. Book three signature services -- blow-out, polish change and makeup – for $75 ($170 value). Clients also get complimentary glasses of champagne.

8457 Melrose Place, Los Angeles. (323) 655-7800. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

-- Max Padilla

Photo: A. Kinney Court interior. Courtesy of A. Kinney Court