On the eve of the Academy Awards, a select group of hipsters and fashionistas was invited to celebrate the launch of the newest collaboration for streetwear store The Hundreds with actor/director/photographer Scott Caan, star of CBS' "Hawaii Five-O."  The Hundreds by Scott Caan collection is a series of T-shirts with prints of Scott Caan’s photography from his 2009 book “Scott Caan: Photographs Vol. 1.”  In honor of this collection, The Hundreds has opened a pop-up gallery/store for one week where original prints from the book, T-shirts from the new collection and signed copies of Caan’s book will be available for purchase.

Scott’s father, actor James Caan, was proud to see his son’s collection of photographs on display at the event Saturday. “I gave him his first camera,” he said. “It was given to me by Francis Coppola in 1970. It was a brand new Nikon. I love what he’s done with it. It’s amazing,” the elder Caan said.

Scott fell in love with photography in 2001 while directing “Dallas 362” with cinematographer Phil Parmet. “Phil taught me about lenses, shooting, f/stops and film speeds and from then on I was just obsessed with it,” he said. “I carried a camera everywhere I went for almost nine years.”

The book contains photographs from Caan’s film sets, his cross-country drives and of women. Women were definitely last on his list of what he likes to shoot. “I had too many friends that were kind of pervy and shot women to get them in bed. I didn’t want to be in that category,” he said. “Then later I was hanging out with this girlfriend of mine, and I was living in a hotel and she said how come you never shoot photos of me? And I said it’s not really my thing and she said, well, do it.”

That was the beginning of what has become a chapter in the book called Ladies in Color and a series of provocative photographs that adorn T-shirts in The Hundreds by Scott Caan collection.

Caan’s book also contains black and white stills of actors he has worked with including Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Don Cheadle as well as places he’s visited. “His access is very unique,” said Bobby Kim, co-founder with Ben Shenassafar of The Hundreds. “He could be with a hot chick in a hotel or be standing on top of the stairs at the Cannes festival. Not many people have that perspective. But what we really like about Scott is that he’s first and foremost an L.A. kid. You’ll see him skateboarding up and down Fairfax, and you’ll go to the beach in Malibu and see him surfing too.

 “He embodies cool art, design and subculture,” said Kim. “And that is our demographic, the everyday kid who loves what we stand for.”

T-shirts, prints and signed copies of the book will be available at the pop-up store next door to The Hundreds until Sunday.

T-shirts: $36
Signed copies of the book: $100
Prints from the collection: starting at $500 for a Polaroid and up to $15,000 for the prints.

The Hundreds pop-up shop, 7907 Rosewood Ave., Los Angeles. Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday through Sunday.

--Raha Lewis

Photos: Top, from left, Ben Shenassafar, James Caan, Scott Caan, Bobby Kim. Credit: Willy Toledo, for The Hundreds.

Left: Some of the T-shirts in The Hundreds by Scott Caan Collection. Credit: Raha Lewis. 

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.

I know the Los Angeles Lakers' Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics for their 16th NBA championship is now a month old, but there still seems to be a lot of Laker-related merchandise floating around town.

My new favorite is a T-shirt I spotted in the window of a 3rd Street boutique a few weeks ago, and I couldn't stop chuckling about it so Sunday I stopped by and snapped up one for myself -- and a couple more for the Laker fans in my life.

The yellow T-shirt is screen-printed in purple with the image of a basketball and the words "I want to thank my psychiatrist," a reference to Ron Artest's post-win interview shout-out to his own therapist, whom he credited with helping him improve his game.

I've since seen a handful of similar shirts floating around the Internet, but this is by far the best-looking of the bunch. I picked mine up at the Kingsbury shop (a few doors west of Joan's on Third) for $15 each, but if you''re looking to score one, you better move fast. The T-shirts have been a popular seller according to the guy behind the counter, and only a handful of the shirts are left.

*[UPDATED 7/19/10 12:06 PM]: We've also been informed that the T-shirt can be purchased online from another source by clicking here.

Kingsbury, 8366 W. 3rd St.,  11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

-- Adam Tschorn

Ron Artest did not shrink from psychotherapy

Photo: A purple-and-gold T-shirt that references Ron Artest's memorable shout-out to his therapist after the Lakers won the 2009-2010 NBA championship. Credit: Adam Tschorn

We know there are probably a gazillion charity T-shirt charity designs floating around out there like tar balls   eddying on the Gulf waves, but there was something about the earnestness of Michael Tamony's e-mail asking us to get the word out about Slam. Dance. Velour's T-shirt design, that we couldn't, in good conscience, turn him down (especially in light of the snarky comment he supposedly received about it  -- which he shares here.)

It depicts a schematic drawing of an oil drilling platform in blue against a black bar code with the word "oil" in all capital letters beneath it, on a charcoal (or is that oil-slick?) gray background.

The label's wares are usually sold through Urban Outfitters (Tamony tells us they also designed the T-shirt for this year's Vans Warped Tour), but you can pick up one of these tagless, 4.5-ounce, ring-spun 100% cotton, slim-fitting T-shirts online for $20, with all proceeds earmarked for the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network.

-- Adam Tschorn

Billy Reid T-shirt benefits Nashville flood relief

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Photo: All sales of Slam. Dance. Velour's $20 charity T-shirt will go toward the Gulf Restoration Network. Credit: Slam. Dance. Velour.

It looks like the peripatetic Cobra Snake is sinking his fangs into bricks-and-mortar retail -- at least temporarily.

On Wednesday we got word that local photographer, occasional fashion-show fixture, gadabout, and petri dish of pop culture Mark "the Cobra Snake" Hunter is opening his own vintage-clothing store in the Hollywood & Highland Center.

Dubbed the Cobra Shop and slated to officially open on June 16, we're told the 2,000-square-foot space with "crazy high ceilings" (Hunter's words, not ours) will be located on the mall's fourth level across from the Hollywood Grill.

Offerings will include a selection of vintage clothing (personally scrounged and sourced by Cobra Snake) similar to the screened Tweety Bird T-shirts, crushed velvet dresses and Mexican ponchos he's been selling through the online incarnation of the Cobra Shop for awhile now, as well as archival pieces by fashion designer Jeremy Scott, screen prints by Shepard Fairey, limited-edition books by Todd Selby, T-shirts from Dim Mak collection and Steve Aoki's personal shoe collection.

If the merchandise mix sounds mind-bending, hold on to your brain pan because the interior decor matches it. The press materials call it a "combination retail store-art gallery-secret clubhouse-video game arcade-photography studio-hot spot-recreational facility" decorated with cardboard cutouts of '90s-era celebrities and taxidermied animals (apparently on loan from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County -- who knew they did loaners?) accessorized with sunglasses.

If you can't wait until mid-month to marvel at the mayhem, make sure to beat feat to the grand opening party slated for June 8. Hosted by Jeremy Scott, it doubles as the exclusive Los Angeles book signing for Todd Selby's new book "The Selby Is in Your Place" and will feature a DJ set by artist Shepard Fairey and  a live performance by someone who calls himself Beardo.

Also in attendance will be "Grandmasnake" and "Grandpasnake" (we're assuming those are Hunter's grandparents, no word if they're "maternalsnakes" or "paternalsnakes"), and a veritable Woodstock's worth of the wingnuts that populate his trippy Cobra-verse.

"[The shop] will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.," Hunter informed us by e-mail. "At least until September. And then we will either continue at that location or move to something more crazy," 

Consider yourself forewarned.

-- Adam Tschorn

Of Trekkie kicks and Cobra Snakes

L.A. Fashion's Class of 2010

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Photo: Shutterbug Mark Hunter, a.k.a. the Cobra Snake, is opening a vintage-clothing store/rumpus room called the Cobra Shop in the Hollywood & Highland Center on June 16. Credit: Marvin Scott Jarrett.

In February, Florence, Ala.-based fashion designer Billy Reid took home the GQ/CFDA award for best new menswear designer in America in part for his ability to mine -- and meld -- the influences of the Southern/country vibe with high-end luxury tailoring. This month, he's doing his part to pay some of that back to a community where one of his six boutiques is located, with a charity T-shirt to benefit the victims of the Nashville floods.

The limited-edition red T-shirt bears the word "love" stacked two letters at a time like Robert Indiana's iconic image, with the "O" consisting of three white stars on a field of blue -- an image that appears on Tennessee's state flag. The original design was created by a Nashville resident and graphic artist named Katie Beth, who, in the aftermath of the floods, printed it on stickers and sold them to benefit United Way Nashville.

Net proceeds from sales of the $38 Tennessee Love T-shirts (currently available for pre-order under the "new arrivals" tab at his website) will go to a local volunteer organization, Hands on Nashville.

-- Adam Tschorn

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New York Fashion Week AW10: Mad plaids and animal instincts

Photo: Net proceeds from the sale of Billy Reid's Tennessee Love T-shirts -- available in men's (pictured) and women's styles ($38) -- are earmarked for a charity that benefits victims of the recent Nashville flooding. Credit: Billy Reid.

The Phoenix Suns wore their sympathies on their shirts in Wednesday night's NBA playoffs, becoming  "Los Suns" and causing quite a stir about mixing basketball with the political debate over Arizona's new immigration law. You can read all about it at our sister blog, Top of the Ticket.

But we know there are plenty of other folks who will want to let their shirts do the talking too -- and so does Surropa.com, which sells what it describes as "the ultimate collection of the best of Latino-inspired street fashion available in the United States."

During the last week of April, the company had a contest on its Facebook page asking its friends to submit ideas for T-shirt slogans based on the immigration controversy. Now several of the winning designs have been incorporated into T-shirts and are available to purchase on Surropa.com for $19.95 each.

The tees are pretty much for people who are against the new law -- one has a slogan in Spanish that roughly translates to "Arizona, kiss my grits." For the higher-minded, another (shown above) paraphrases the famous words of Jose de la Cruz Porfirio Diaz, president of Mexico from 1876 to 1911: "Poor Mexico, so far from God, and so close to the United States."

If, unlike the Suns, you'd rather stick to sports and keep politics off your chest, Surropa.com also has plenty of sports-related shirts among its offerings. My favorite screams "GOAL GOAL, GOAL" and it's just in time for the World Cup!

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Surropa.com

In an effort to make tonight's Conde Nast prom (a.k.a. the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute Gala Benefit) more accessible, Gap, the event's sponsor, is selling T-shirts inspired by the fashion exhibit "American Woman: Fashioning A National Identity," which opens at the museum Wednesday, May 5.

The T-shirt designs are drawn from archetypes of American femininity from the 1890s to the 1940s, which are the organizing principle for the show. Above, left to right, are the Heiress T-shirt (back view), the Gibson Girl T-shirt and the Flapper T-shirt.  Below, left to right, the Suffragist, Screen Siren and Patriot tees. Shirts are $34.50 to $44.50 at Gap stores and at Gap.com.

Which one is your favorite? I'm partial to the Gibson Girl.

--Booth Moore

Photos courtesy of the Gap.

We all have a beloved old rock T-shirt or two in our possession. But for Cesar Padilla, owner of New York's Cherry vintage boutique, retro rock tees are a passion. And the retailer and collector, who's been amassing music tees since 1980, has now turned his obsession into a book.

In "Ripped: T-Shirts From the Underground" (out March 9), Padilla captures more than 200 tees made by (or in homage to) post-punk artists and musicians of the '70s and '80s from his collection. The shirts -- which are shown in all their sweaty-stained glory -- chronicle a musical movement that hinged on the DIY. This was an era when bands silk-screened their own T-shirts (and posters and fanzines) to sell at their club dates. Even the mass-produced shirts looked homemade.

In case you missed (or weren’t born yet) for the star-studded group performance of "We Are the World" back in 1985, you can catch the new version (same sentiment, but probably not as many light-socket-permed hair dos) version Friday night during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 winter Olympic Games.

In addition to the totally new cast of crooners (including Lil Wayne, Justin Beiber, Josh Groban and Miley Cyrus) a company called Give and Take has released a T-shirt with the original “USA for Africa” logo made when the original "We Are the World" was released.  Twenty percent of proceeds from the sales of the shirt will benefit USA for Africa.

Melissa Magsaysay

Photo: Give and Take “We Are the World” T-shirt, $40 at Give and Take Tees

Designer Corinne Grassini, founder and owner of L.A. fashion brand Society for Rational Dress, has always been pragmatic about designing clothes that fill holes in a hip girl's wardrobe. And now she's fleshing out her offerings in one of the most basic clothing categories: T-shirts.

The designer is debuting SfRD, a T-shirt collection separate from her signature line, for Spring 2010. Comprised of a handful of cleverly unstructured designs -- wrought in a silk/micromodal rib knit fabric that's seriously soft -- the collection features subtle details such as knots and simple metal and leather straps that add intrigue to simple silhouettes. 

Yellow Bird Project, a Canadian nonprofit organization that taps music artists to create T-shirts for charitable causes, has lured three of indie rock's most revered acts -- Grizzly Bear, Metric and Bloc Party -- to design tees for its holiday collection.

Pop-folk band Grizzly Bear's T-shirt -- which benefits the Brighter Planet Project Fund -- is pale pink, with a purple scribbled design on it meant to riff on the invention of the wheel (don't strain your craniums, Grizzly Bears!).

Angular indie-pop band Bloc Party, meanwhile, created a black tee emblazoned with a surreal and peaceful outdoor landscape (complete with fluttering butterflies). Proceeds from the shirt will benefit the Bread & Roses community fund, which seeks to address power and resource inequalities.

Longtime indie fave Metric's purple top -- which has yet to appear on the company's website -- allegedly features vibrant pinstripes and benefits MusiCounts.

All artist-designed tees are $25. And for hard-to-shop-for teens, they may be just the ticket this holiday.

--Emili Vesilind

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Photo: Grizzly Bear's ode to the invention of the wheel. Credit: Yellow Bird Project