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.

Imagine Fashion, a new website that spotlights fashion, beauty, art and commerce through film, officially launched Tuesday morning -- and last night its founders celebrated with a party at Bar Basque in New York.

The site, which was designed as a monthly publication, uses the medium of film to, ultimately, sell things. But the driving concept is that the films on the site will be so art-house cool, you won't even know you're being propositioned. 

Imagine Fashion plans to tap edgy, stylish talent to create its content and already names electroclash musician Casey Spooner, filmmaker Zach Gold, stylish Patti Wilson and fashion journalist Godfrey Deeny among its contributors. (Deeny's prose can be inspiring, if a bit unweildy; a sample opening sentence: "It was luxury’s quiet but deadly culling of the ranks. With the whittling down-size of companies, houses and brands went the quiet ejection of a phalanx of executives, designers, and influence makers.")

Although there are a number of featurettes already posted, the site is scheduled to launch with a short fashion feature, "A Letter," directed by Francesco Carrozzini, featuring "It" girls Elisa Sednaoui, Paz de la Huerta, Poppy Delevigne and Zoe le Ber. But as of recently, we have only glimpsed the trailer.

Still, it's looking decidedly cool and noir. We can't wait to see the entire package.

--Emili Vesilind

Film clip: "String Theory" by Zach Gold. Credit: Imagine Fashion

Kate Moss, supermodel and fashion icon, is the subject of a documentary airing Tuesday night on the Sundance Channel — part of the network's seven-day series of style-related content that coincides with New York Fashion Week.

"Kate! The Making of an Icon," explores the career and cultural impact of the British model, who's staying power in the nexus of the fashion industry has outlasted that of her contemporaries, which included the likes of Stephanie Seymour, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer.

Of course Moss — who's famous, among other things, for almost never speaking in the press — is personally absent from the documentary. But her story is told through iconic imagery, including the once-scandalous "heroin chic" photos shot by Corinne Day for The Face magazine and the nude Calvin Klein ads, and by a handful of famous photographers, designers, filmmakers and artists who have worked with her over the years. 

When describing the Myth of Moss, photographer Peter Lindbergh called the model-muse "just very cool," adding, "Kate doesn't let herself be used, doesn't let herself be forced into a role as a paragon."

Vivienne Westwood, who has worked with Moss for decades, said, rather comically, "What I like about her...is that she doesn't care about being naked. If she's backstage, she wouldn't even think about taking her clothes off. This sort of attitude is a sort of a punk attitude."

But filmmaker Mike Figgis, who once shot a short fashion film starring Moss for Agent Provocateur, perhaps distilled the essence of the supermodel's success most succinctly.

"Surely if you wear a coat, you wear a coat — either it's a nice coat or it's not a nice coat," he said. "Kate Moss manages to make [it] interesting, and what her talent is is I don't know quite how she does that."

"Kate! The Making of an Icon" airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. PST on the Sundance Channel.

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: Kate Moss models Helmut Lang for photographer Craig McDean in 1996. Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fashion-seeking fans of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" reality series will soon be able to kick up their heels in cocktail dresses and evening gowns inspired by the costumes that have been worn on the dance floor over the last couple of seasons.

The 30-piece collection, which is expected to retail at $348 to $598, is being produced under license by Los Angeles-based formalwear maker La Femme -- which has created dresses for, among others, the briefcase-toting bellesof NBC's "Deal or No Deal" -- and is expected to start hitting retail at the end of February, with the full range available by March 15. (The dresses will be available both online and through many of La Femme's department store and formalwear retail accounts.)

According to La Femme's chief executive, Michael Kasher, when the show's representatives approached him about the idea, he instantly fell in love with it. "They've had so many amazing dresses on the show over the years, this was a great opportunity to create a commercial version of what the team of designers on the show do."

Even before heading off to the men's fall and winter 2011-12 runway shows in Milan and Paris earlier this month, I'd started gathering string on the surging popularity of all things country. And it wasn't just "True Grit" at the box office and Taylor Swift on the album charts either; rural America was resonating on the runways of New York Fashion Week and ringing the registers at a Beverly Hills auction house.

How else can you explain the fact that Billy Reid -- the fashion designer whose rough-hewn meets refined / slightly bent Southern gent aesthetic won him both GQ magazine's "Best New Menswear Designer in America" competition and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award in the same calendar year -- is based not in New York City or Los Angeles but Florence, Ala.?

From Milan I spoke with Reid -- who was in the process of getting ready for New York Fashion Week -- if he'd noticed it. "I certainly do," he said. "It's something that's always just been part of who I am and what I do, and I do have to say it's nice to see other people coming around," he said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

What he couldn't tell me -- for certain -- was if the result was anything quantifiable at the register. "We've had an uptick in our business, yes," Reid said. "But honestly, it's hard to say whether it's because of that or because of winning those two awards."

But, by the time I was boots on the ground back in Los Angeles, the gathered string had started to feel like the  world's largest ball of twine; even the runways of Europe reflected the trappings of country or western references (but apparently not "country-and-western"; I'm told using that term -- especially when referring to the music genre -- is a serious faux pas) and "True Grit" had corralled 10 Academy Award nominations.

So I saddled up, dug in my spurs, and tried a little roundup of my own. You can read the story -- which will appear in the Jan. 30 Image section -- here. 

If you can pull yourself away from FarmVille, that is.

 -- Adam Tschorn

Photo: The finale of the DSquared2 men's fall and winter 2011 runway show during Milan Fashion Week. The label is one of many that have recently turned to the trappings of rural America for inspiration. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter / For The Times.

There's a new TV/clothing collab on the horizon (Glee and Gossip Girl jumped on that bandwagon long ago, and our own Booth Moore reported on the significant surge in TV/clothing collaborations). Bebe, the retailer who also has produced a line designed by the Kardashian sisters, has teamed up with CBS Consumer Products for a line called "Bebe for 90210" based on the CW show.

With a cast full of hot female leads, 90210 seems like a perfect fit for fashion branding. And the synergy is kicking into full gear by next week when fans of the show will get a sneak peak of a few of the outfits. On Jan. 31, Jessica Stroup, AnnaLynne McCord and Jessica Lowndes will be wearing pieces from the collection on the episode titled, "It's Getting Hot in Here" and again on the Feb. 7 episode.

The show's producers, wardrobe team and the Bebe creative team all have contributed to the look of the collection and plan to roll out the line of suiting, blouses, dresses and jumpsuits four times a year. 

I only wish this had been done with the original cast of 90210, because who didn't want everything out of Donna Martin's closet?

The Bebe for 90210 collection will be available in Bebe stores and at bebe.com on Feb. 10 and ranges from $59 to $159.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos: Looks from the Bebe for 90210 clothing collection on (from left) Jessica Lowndes, AnnaLynne McCord and Jessica Stroup. Credit: Scott Humbert/The CW

The latest high-end "Tron: Legacy" tie-in? A $15,000 designer armchair -- recently unveiled in Miami.

Inspired by the digital landscape that appears in the upcoming "Tron" movie, the armchairs were designed by New York based designer Dror Benshetrit for Cappellini in conjunction with Walt Disney Signature  -- the "adult lifestyle" branch of the Disney merchandising tree, which in addition to fashion collaborations such as Sue Wong dresses and Stella McCartney jewelry, licenses things such as wallpaper, light fixtures and furniture.

The solid-looking chairs are made of hand-layered fiberglass and polyester resin and have a mix of angular and undulating lines that at first glance might remind you of the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

Each of the armchairs is hand-finished, based on a gray background and accented with varying degrees of orange and white accent colors -- the coolest-looking ones bear just a single diagonal slash of what looks like orange or white paint that looks as if it was left behind by a speeding Light Cycle.

If you like the look but not the price, you might still have a chance to jack into the grid -- plans include a mass-produced version of the chair (made from 100% recycled roto-molded plastic), which will make its official debut at the Milan International Furniture Show in April 2011.

The special production armchairs, which cost $15,000 each, were unveiled as part of Design Miami 2010 and will be on display at the Cappellini/Poltrona Frau Miami showroom, 10 N.E. 39th St., Miami, until Friday.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: The "Tron: Legacy" inspired armchairs were designed by Dror Benshetrit and sell for $15,000 each. They were unveiled Thursday as part of Design Miami 2010. Credit: Cappellini

If you've seen T-Mobile's new TV ad campaign, you probably got a chuckle out of the fact that it manages to deftly mock Apple's own Mac vs. PC ads by casting the iPhone and the AT&T network as a haggard pair of piggybacking fellows and the T-Mobile myTouch 4G as a comely lass in an eye-catching pink-and-white dress. You may even have wondered aloud -- as my better half did -- what "4G" (which refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards) actually means.

Although I can't help you on that front (it turns out that defining 4G -- like beauty -- depends on who you ask), I have gotten to the bottom of a couple other burning questions. Namely, who is the gal working the Anne Hathaway meets Kim Basinger look? And who made the dress she's wearing?

As trivial as they might seem, over the last few weeks these two facts have been the subject of a good

Apparel- and accessory-wise, Disney seems to be giving "Tron: Legacy" the "Alice in Wonderland" treatment -- pairing with designers and clothing brands that key in on every possible demographic and price point.

Last month, we told you about the jewelry, and earlier this month we noted the "Tron"-themed pop-up store at Royal/T in Culver City. Now we've finally got some more details on Hurley's "Tron: Legacy"- inspired capsule collection of men's and women's apparel that's zipping into select PacSun stores on Nov. 19. The clothes will be sold exclusively in those stores until widening retail distribution on Dec. 5. (The actual movie bows at theaters on Dec. 17.)

The collection, which will range in price from $29 to $129, includes the usual action-sports assortment of board shorts, T-shirts, denim, hoodies, lightweight outerwear pieces and New Era caps for both men and women, as well as some featherweight tank-tops and dresses -- and even a bikini -- for women.

Most of the pieces are black (with a few white pieces thrown in) with accent piping and screenprinting in the signature shades of blue or orange associated with the film.

Forever-platinum fashion designer Donatella Versace made an appearance on "The View" Friday, introducing pieces from Versace's fall/winter collection and -- in her broken English -- taking on a few hot topics.

Co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck introduced Versace by giving a little background on the brand, including the fact that founder Gianni Versace was murdered at his front doorstep in 1997 (a little strange to bring up 13 years later, no?).

Donatella Versace noted that she stepped into the role of head designer after her brother's death because "I had so much responsibility from people around me. Could I run away? No, I couldn't. So I decided to do ... to do it. We were so proud of what he created, what he did."

The interview lightened up considerably when a clip of Maya Rudolph doing her famed Donatella Versace impression from "Saturday Night Live" was aired. Versace giggled along with the show's co-hosts and said she thought Rudolph's impression of her was "hilarious."

Still, she said she would have fine-tuned the performance. "I talked to her on the phone once, and I gave her a suggestion on how to do me better," said Versace. First off: "I don't drink." And second: "Take off the jewelry because it looks too fake -- I only wear real."

But of course.

-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: Donatella Versace attends the Vogue Fashion's Night Out event at the Versace boutique in Milan, Italy on Sept. 9. Credit: Vincenzo Lombardo / Getty Images

If this weekend's Halloween revelry didn't satisfy your desire for wearing eye-catching clothes, and the star-spangled trousers Stephen Colbert wore at Saturday's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" looked like something you might want to add to your own wardrobe, you're in luck.

The shamelessly self-promoting folks at Betabrand made sure to let us know over the weekend that the comedian was clad in a pair of their USA pants (online only, $90). 

The patriotic pants are made in San Francisco, and details include a star-motif waist button and red-and-white striped pocket bags and waistband liner.

And, as usual, the pants are worth checking out at the Betabrand site for entertainment value alone. The descriptions include: "Lovingly hand-stitched by the spectral fingers of Betsy Ross’ ghost," and "These colors don't run (unless washed in hot water with white clothing.)"

To complete the outfit, I'd recommend the Florsheim for Duckie Brown Patriot Boot ($495) -- if you can find a pair (an update of a Florsheim style first made in 1945 to celebrate the end of World War II, the boots were made in a limited run of 1,945 pairs).

-- Adam Tschorn

Upper photo: Stephen Colbert, left, sporting a pair of Betabrand's star-spangled USA pants during the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" with Jon Stewart, right, in Washington. Credit: Kris Connor / Getty Images

Lower photo: A limited-edition Florsheim by Duckie Brown Patriot Boot. Credit: Florsheim by Duckie Brown

Victoria's latest secret might be that she's wearing a bra worth more than a yacht.

Italian jeweler Damiani has created a $2-million "Bombshell Fantasy Bra" for Victoria’s Secret, to be worn by supermodel and senior "Angel" Adriana Lima.

A little history: Victoria's Secret always chooses a venerable jewelry company to create its annual diamond "Fantasy Bra," which is featured in the Victoria’s Secret Christmas Dreams and Fantasies catalog and on the runway at "The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show," which airs this year Nov. 30 on CBS.

Damiani's sparkling brassiere is comprised of
more than 3,000 brilliant-cut white diamonds, light blue sapphires and oval-shaped topazes,
all set in 18-karat white gold.

In all, it features 60 carats of diamonds and
82 carats of sapphires and topazes. The bra's whirling pattern was designed to evoke "a heavenly display of swirling stars and constellations."

The piece took six craftsmen 1,500 hours of full-time labor to complete, claims Damiani.

I'm just wondering how heavy the bra is — and how it's providing even a modicum of support (not the point, I know. But it is a bra, after all).

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: Damiani's diamond bra for Victoria's Secret. Credit: Damiani