Fashion gains religious support in Iran

The fashion boom has given hope to many independent designers and Iranian women

After more than three decades of resistance and struggling underground, fashion has finally gained foothold in the Islamic Republic of Iran. As fashion weeks mushroom across the country, the need for more models has increased significantly.

According to The Guardian, most models at Oxygen Royal, venue for Iran’s male models to practice their catwalk, are hired by modelling agency Behpooshi. The agency has 50 male and 30 female models, linking them with event managers of fashion weeks.
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“If I say that fashion in Iran has gone through a revolution in the past year, I haven’t exaggerated,” Sharif Razavi, Behpooshi’s director, told The Guardian. “In around 30 years since the revolution, we saw around 10 to 15 catwalks in the country,” he said, “but in the last year alone, we’ve seen more than a hundred.”



Behpooshi began seven years ago but like many others involved in the fashion industry in Iran, the agency operated underground. Then two and half years ago, Razavi wrote to the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and asked for a religious edict to find if Islam forbade fashion and modelling. To his delight, it didn’t.

He pursued the matter with the authorities at the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance. And this effort opened doors. “Before this if I were to mention to the authorities that I wanted to found a modelling agency nobody would listen to me but things changed,” Razavi said.

Rayan Baghdadi, with many followers on Instagram, was among the 20 men practising at Oxygen Royal. “Modelling is now my job and I’m taking it very seriously,” said the 23-year-old. “When you are a model, you can’t do many things other people do, like drinking or eating fast food, you are always conscious about what you do and what you eat.”
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Baghdadi, who recently performed at Tehran fashion week held at the sumptuous Sam Centre complex on the city’s most expensive street, Fereshteh, said significant improvements have been made in the past couple of years. “The authorities now issue licences to each model and those who want to participate in public events and catwalks, should apply for a licence and its ID card. The underground fashion is fading.” He has even had international experience, doing catwalks in Dubai to promote works of designer Rahil Hesan, who is half-Iranian.
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Not all Iranian models, however, have applied for a licence. Dana Mashalahpoor, 28, has been particularly successful but his route to fashion has been entirely different to that of Baghdadi. Although he has worked with big companies, including foreign brands, he has never been invited to walk a catwalk at home.
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“Fashion is becoming more serious in Iran and that’s a good thing,” he said. “You’ll see plenty of people interested in fashion today in the country compared to a few years ago. There’s a wave, a strong wave but we’ll have to be careful and do it right.”
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Mashalahpoor is now the face of Dorsa, which sells popular leather products.
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He has been featured on large billboards in Tehran streets at least eight times, has appeared for Swiss brand Davidoff in Dubai and has modelled for the Italian menswear Pal Zileri in Iran.

“There has been progress but big challenges remain,” he said. “Some people still have negative views about fashion in Iran. But Iran has a huge potential in fashion, and models are very ambitious and want to work across the globe.”

The fashion boom has given hope to independent designers who specialise in women’s clothing such as manteaux, which many Iranian women wear in public instead of the traditional chader, which covers them from head to toe. Many Iranian women push the boundaries and wear manteaux that are short, colourful and modern.



Pooshema, a prominent manteaux designer house by Farnaz Abdoli, has been recently approached by Vancouver fashion week. Long before the authorities allowed fashion operations, Pooshema (previously known as Poosh) became popular online for its work.
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“At those times, the authorities were very sensitive, and there were only a few people involved in holding fashion weeks,” Abdoli said. “Fortunately things changed for the better. Now you can’t count the number of people involved in fashion in Iran, with many companies holding training for modelling and designing and even offering certificates.”
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Abdoli said she has been overwhelmed by the number of emails she has received from abroad about her work. “When people see our work, they are shocked,” she said. “They expect women in Iran to wear veils and niqabs but then they see our models and designs and they can’t believe what they see.”