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.

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Nicole Richie teams with Gilt, David Tutera teams with Sears and YSL's ad is banned

-- Celebrity wedding planner David Tutera, host of "My Fair Wedding," is launching a line of wedding and engagement rings exclusively at Sears. (And the announcement comes on the eve of National Wedding Ring Day!) [WWD] (subscription required)

-- The very busy Nicole Richie, right, has teamed with Gilt Groupe for a full-price sale event Thursday featuring Richie's  House of Harlow 1960 and Winter Kate spring collections. [WWD] (subscription required) Gilt Groupe is busy too, having just launched the celebrity designer series our Melissa Magsaysay wrote about last week. [Los Angeles Times]

-- Did you wonder if that J. Crew wedding collection had legs? It seems so. Tori Spelling wore J. Crew last weekend when she was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. [People]

-- Young Scottish fashion designer Christopher Kane has won the British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund prize, a monetary award given -- along with mentoring from the more experienced -- to help talented newcomers. [Telegraph]

-- Los Angeles based Band of Outsiders has opened its first New York showroom. [WWD] (subscription required)

-- A television ad for Yves Saint Laurent's Belle d'Opium fragrance has been banned in the U.K. for simulating -- or at least implying -- drug use. [Telegraph]  

-- Got a bad haircut? Don't despair; there are some steps you can take to fix it -- like going back to the salon or trying clip in extensions till it grows out. [BellaSugar]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Nicole Richie.  Credit: Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Paris Fashion Week: The best of the rest from the men's runway

Since Paris Fashion Week served up more noteworthy menswear collections than we had time to discuss in depth, and the Haute Couture shows are now on the fashion world's center stage (soon to be followed by New York Fashion Week), here's  a notebook-clearing laundry list of the ones that got away:

Lanvin

The Lanvin collection telegraphed its duality with a soundtrack that abruptly cut between '70s-era country music and futuristic thumping techno beats. So too the runway was filled with both extremes: skinny-legged pants interspersed with generously cut trousers, technical outerwear pieces such as puffer jackets and bombers followed by double-breasted jackets, and other pieces that combined the best of both ends of the spectrum. But there was one constant -- many looks were topped off with the wide-brimmed hat that had become one of the "it" accessories of the men's fall and winter 2011 shows.

Yves Saint Laurent

"Take me back to England" were the first words we could make out from the soundtrack accompanying

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Michelle Obama's Alexander McQueen gown might not have been politically correct

Oscar de la Renta is fretting over the red and black Alexander McQueen gown Michelle Obama wore to this week's state dinner for People's Republic of China President Hu Jintao. Not that the frock by McQueen creative director Sarah Burton wasn't lovely. But it should have been made by an American or Chinese designer, not a Brit, de la Renta says. Who knew fashion was so political? [WWD]

A couple of my favorite celebs are announcing product deals as this week nears its close. 

New papa Orlando Bloom (it was a baby boy for the actor and wife, model Miranda Kerr, on Jan. 6) will be the frontman for Boss Orange Man, due out Feb. 1.  [WWD] (Subscription required.)  

"Project Runway's" Heidi Klum signed a deal with Coty to create her own fragrance, Shine, scheduled to hit stores in September. [WWD] (Subscription required.) 

Actor Vincent Cassel and director Darren Aronofsky of "Black Swan" worked with Yves Saint Laurent on a short film promoting YSL's La Nuit de L’Homme. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Speaking of "Black Swan," here's a fun fact for you: Swarovski provided more than 250,000 crystals for the film's costumes and chandeliers. [People]

Rihanna has become the girl with the most talked about hair over the last year or so -- not counting Willow Smith! Rihanna's hair has been long, it's been short and edgy, it's been different colors. And this week, thanks to a wig, it was wild, red Afro style curls spiraling around her face like a mushroom cloud. Kids, don't try this at home! [StyleList] 

Kat Von D has been spotted wearing a Neil Lane engagement ring from fiance Jesse James. The 4-carat-plus sparkler is a large diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds in a dome shape. [People]

Foley + Corinna has closed its Los Angeles shop on Melrose. [Mondette]

--Susan Denley

Photo: First Lady Michelle Obama, wearing the Alexander McQueen gown, with President Barack Obama. Credit: AFP/Getty 

 

In search of: Norman Rockwell-worthy crimson lips

On holiday here in Washington, D.C., I stopped by the fantastic Norman Rockwell exhibit "Telling Stories," which features paintings and drawings by the well-known artist on loan from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

And after discovering that I'd misjudged Rockwell's work all these years as simply apple-pie Americana (true, his work was idealistic but not without its dark shadows), I noted how fabulous looking all the women in his oeuvre were — with their washed-and-set '40s and '50s coifs and their neat-as-a-pin shirtwaist dresses.

Rockwell "cast" his paintings, drawing people from photographs and real life. And though female faces varied, they almost always boasted a similiar crimson mouth.

The lip color? Pure 1940s orange-based red, a hue that's so high maintenance, my guess is most modern gals would shy away from it.

But Rockwell's glamorous femmes inspired me to find a modern-day facsimilie of the face-brightening lip color. Below, a few options:

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture in Blood Red: This va-va-voom hue, $30, is a definite Rockwell red, packing the power to enliven an otherwise bare (or nearly bare) face.

Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color in Cherry Lush: Ford appreciates a good retro lip, and his Private Blend collection is full of classic colors, none of which seem more Rockwellian than Cherry Lush, $45. Though it's definitely a pinky red, it's deeply pigmented and absolutely '50s.

Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick: But the winning color has to be this orange-based crimson from Clarins (pictured). Thick and intensely pigmented, the fire-engine-red lip color is fit for an icon.

--Emili Vesilind

Photos, from top: Norman Rockwell's "The Flirts," from Steven Spielberg's collection. Credit: Smithsonian American Museum of Art. Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick. Credit: Clarins

 

Photos from the top 10 spring-summer 2011 runway collections

Los Angeles Times fashion critic Booth Moore picks the top 10 runway collections of the spring-summer 2011 season. Check out a full gallery here.

Photo left: A look from the Fendi spring-summer 2011 runway collection. Photo right: A look from the Gucci spring-summer 2011 runway collection. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter / For The Times.

Paris Fashion Week: Yves Saint Laurent moves forward

This has been a season rife with references to vintage Yves Saint Laurent, on runways from New York to Milan, at Marc Jacobs, Gucci,  Etro and more. So the pressure was on YSL designer Stefano Pilati to deliver something special.

And he did, by bringing strong suits, peasant tops and gyspy dresses up to date with strong lines and graphic details.

The spring season's longer length skirt was clean and spare, save for a single patch pocket positioned at the top of a slit, or a border of flamenco ruffles.

Pilati was able to convey a grown-up sensuality by revealing just a hint of skin with open-back blouses and dresses, slim-line jumpsuits with plunging necklines or halter tops.

It added up to lots to wear, and a sense of looking forward not back.

-- Booth Moore in Paris

Yves Saint Laurent spring-summer 2011 runway collection photo gallery

Photos: Looks from the Yves Saint Laurent spring-summer 2011 runway collection show during Paris Fashion Week. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter / For The Times.

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Kelly Osbourne, Joan Rivers are 'Fashion Police'

Kelly Osbourne has taken her share of thumbs-down over her style choices in the past, but now she will have a chance to opine on the taste of others. She is joining Joan Rivers on a new weekly show, "Fashion Police," which debuts Friday at 10:30 p.m. EDT on E! They will be aided by E's resident fashionista Giuliana Rancic and celebrity stylist George Kotsiopoulos. Should be fun to get a weekly chance to review celebrity outfits instead of having to wait for major events like Emmys and Oscars. [People] 

"L'Amour Fou," a documentary premiering Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival, explores the love story of late designer Yves Saint Laurent and his longtime partner, Pierre Bergé.  "I have never met a couple that stuck together for 50 years, through the ups and downs, and I thought it was simply extraordinary," said filmmaker Pierre Thoretton.  "Their love was unconditional. I have never seen anything like it and it still blows me away." [WWD]

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise were a cuddly couple this week at a New York screening of her new film, "The Romantics," but that's not distracting Holmes from business. Besides launching a new movie, she is hard at work with stylist Jeanne Yang on the Holmes & Yang spring collection. [WWD]

Jessica Simpson launched her new denim line this week with a party featuring friends and family. Sis Ashlee and pal Cacee Cobb modeled; brother-in-law Pete Wentz played DJ; and beau Eric Johnson was on hand. Guests got a look at her Spring 2011 collection and received a pair of jeans as a gift. [People]

Fashion's Night Out, the global shopping event meant to stimulate fashion sales, is happening in New York and L.A. on Friday, but the Brits got a head start with FNO on Wednesday night in London. [WWD]

America's Gap has scored a style coup. To celebrate the opening of its first stores in Italy, Gap will offer a limited capsule collection designed by Valentino. The collection will be available beginning in November in just a handful of stores in London, Paris and Milan. [Telegraph]

Victoria and David Beckham make out in an elevator in a steamy ad for their upcoming his-and-hers fragrance, Intimately Beckham Yours. Voyeurism, anyone? [Daily Mail] 

Estée Lauder's new fragrance, Bloomin' Lovely, is a fresh, fruity floral that seems a bit more youthful than what Lauder usually offers. ( [BellaSugar] 

Could the new "it" accessory be a fan? French firm Duvelleroy hopes to bring back beautiful hand-held fans to complement every wardrobe. [T Magazine]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Kelly Osbourne in a Tony Ward gown at this year's Emmys. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

An Yves Saint Laurent Tribute and well-heeled fund-raiser to fight cancer in women

Yves Saint Laurent's famous Tribute platform sandal has been redone in fetching -- and symbolic -- hot pink, a show of support in the effort to find a cure for women's gynecological and breast cancers.

YSL created the suede slippers, dubbed the Pink Party Tribute Heel, exclusively for Pacific Palisades boutique Elyse Walker — in homage to Walker's longtime support of cancer research for women.

One hundred dollars from the sale of the pink pumps, which are on sale now at ElyseWalker.com for $995, will be donated to Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute.

The sale of the pink Tributes is kicking off fund-raising efforts for the sixth annual Pink Party, a benefit founded by Walker in support of the institute. The event, which will take place at Drai's Hollywood nightclub on Sept. 25, will be hosted by Jennifer Garner. Since its inception five years ago, the charity  has raised more than $4 million for the cause.

The kicky heels — only available while supplies last — come in a lower heel (3 inches) for us rational gals, and a towering 4-inch heel for girls who like to live on the edge (but not tip over).

-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: YSL's Elyse Walker Tribute sandals. Credit: Elyse Walker

Your Morning fashion and beauty report: Michael Jackson still king of style.

Fans Friday are mourning the death one year ago of pop king Michael Jackson. Jackson was also the king of pop style, and his impact on fashion is still felt. Times Fashion Critic Booth Moore explained how his idiosyncratic flair influenced the fashion world. [LAT] 

Kristen Stewart (in Elie Saab), Robert Pattinson (in Gucci) and Taylor Lautner looked fangtastic Thursday night at the L.A. premier of "Eclipse," the latest Twilight movie, which opens Wednesday. [Wall Street Journal]  

Remember when a good book was just a good book? Now who knows where it will lead? Fresh has teamed with Sony for a new "Eat, Pray, Love" fragrance line based on Elizabeth Gilbert's bestseller. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Meanwhile, YSL reaches back to the past with Belle d'Opium, a modern take on the house's signature scent from he '70s. French actress Melanie Thierry will be the face of the fragrance. [Instyle UK]

You may not recognize their names but if you're interested in fashion, you've seen their work. Photographers Inez and Vinoodh have worked with ateliers Gucci, Pucci, Isabel Marant, Givenchy, YSL...the list goes on and on. And their shoots have appeared in Vogue, Bazaar and all the major glossies. Now the husband-wife team is celebrating 25 years in the business. [FabSugar]

Model Miranda Kerr flashes the diamond engagement ring newly slipped on her finger by fiance Orlando Bloom. [Us]  

Remember a few years ago when the City of Angels sprouted artistically decorated angels all over town? The angels delighted us for awhile, then were auctioned off for a good cause. Chicago did something similar with cows. Now the Big Apple has put its own spin on the idea: 32 fashion designers, including Michael Kors, Donna Karan and Isabel Toledo, have decked out fiberglass mannequins which will be on view till Sept. 3. [The Cut]

--Susan Denley

Photo: Michael Jackson  Credit: Reuters