Livia Firth in a Gary Harvey gown recycled, or "upcycled," from multiple opera-costume dresses.
GREENING THE RED CARPET: Livia Firth figured if she was going to be arm candy for one of Hollywood’s hottest film stars, she might as well use it for a good cause. Her Green Carpet Challenge encourages fashion designers to produce environmentally and socially conscious awards-season clothes. Since Livia started the project in 2010, when husband Colin was Oscar-nominated for A Single Man, such labels as Tom Ford, Armani and Chanel have created custom eco-couture for select events. At the recent BAFTA Awards, Viola Davis wore a pink Valentino made of recycled soda bottles, Michael Fassbender and Colin wore Armani tuxes made partly of recycled plastic and Livia opted for an organic silk-and-wool Paul Smith pantsuit. “I would never wear something simply because it’s green,” says Livia, a documentary film producer who co-founded London consultancy Eco Age and will go green at this year’s Oscars. “It has to be glamorous as well.” — Tina Daunt
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The Art World’s Own Oscar Week
What NYC gallerist Larry Gagosian started in 1996 — a star-studded L.A. opening timed to the Academy Awards — has grown into a full slate of openings around town. It starts Feb. 23, at GAGOSIAN BEVERLY HILLS (456 N. Camden Drive), with works on view by mind-bending Swiss artist Urs Fischer. … The next night, OHWOW GALLERY (937 N. La Cienega Blvd.) debuts photographer Terry Richardson’s Hollywood-themed Terrywood, which, says friend and fan Jared Leto, “captures the soul of this seemingly soulless town.” The exhibit includes sculptures of Richardson as a gold statuette, created from body scans of the artist. … The biggest night for art-viewing (and people-watching) will be Oscar eve. On Feb. 25, ACE GALLERY (5514 Wilshire Blvd.) presents new work by iconic L.A. painter Ed Moses. “His current use of textures, fabrics and color is pure joy,” says actor and collector Julian Sands. PRISM (8746 W. Sunset Blvd.) will lure its gorgeous crowd to see paintings and sculptures by Brazilian duo Os Gemeos. In Culver City, BLUM & POE (2727 S. La Cienega Blvd.) looks at the late-’60s/early-’70s Japanese movement Mono-ha, while at HONOR FRASER (2622 S. La Cienega Blvd.), artist (and fashion plate) Rosson Crow unveils abstracted scenes of dust storms and ticker-tape parades. Style fanatics will hit MOCA PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER (8687 Melrose Ave.) for the VIP opening of a show of pieces by fashion pioneer Rudi Gernreich (inventor of the topless swimsuit in 1964) and original photos of his muse, Peggy Moffitt, in the clothes, including the swimsuit shown below. Recalls Moffitt, “I remember that it took a road map to get into it.” — Degen Pener
What Hollywood Is Pouring Now
This is the week Hollywood gets its celebratory drink on at private gatherings and special wine dinners.
In Hancock Park, Focus Features CEO James Schamus throws his annual wine-centric dinner for friends a day or two before the big night. He again has pressed Savage Grace screenwriter Howard A. Rodman into sommelier duty. To pair with Schamus’ menu (pasta with a sauce of tomato and slow-cooked meaty bones; smoked bird with hints of gorgonzola), Rodman, vp of the Writers Guild of America West, has chosen the cream-on-acid 2010 Huet Le Haut-Lieu Vouvray (pictured) and the gutsy-yet-finessed 2010 Jean Foillard Morgon Cote du Py Beaujolais. Explains Rodman, “Nothing geeky, but unimpeachably delicious.”
Shuttered from Schamus’ cozy table? Sample a flight paired to nominated films at Santa Monica’s family-winery-focused WINE EXPO wine bar (2933 Santa Monica Blvd.). On Feb. 22, head to Shutters on the Beach’s ONE PICO (1 Pico Blvd.), where $75 bathes you in Henriot champagne and three courses. Host Luc Bouchard is Burgundy royalty, so surprises are expected. Or at downtown’s PATINA (141 S. Grand Ave.) on Feb. 24, taste the winery that Pixar built. John and Nancy Lasseter will showcase their Lasseter Family Winery offerings during a four-course, $130-a-person dinner. The slow-cooked halibut, paired with Lasseter’s 2009 Chemin de Fer, looks stunning. — Alice Feiring
