Paria Farzaneh, the Iranian designer who opened London Fashion Week

It's emblematic that just the day after the attacks on Iran ordered by US President Donald Trump, the London Fashion Week Men's was opened with the show of an Iranian woman, the 24-year-old designer Paria Farzaneh, inspired by the tradition of Middle Eastern marriages. This is the fourth collection for Farzaneh, who graduated from Ravensbourne University in the year of her catwalk debut, 2018. Over the past two years, her success has been explosive: her garments have been worn by Frank Ocean, Yung Lean, and A$ap Nast and she began a collaboration with Converse creating a One Star and an All Star, both inspired by the culture and art of Iran.

The main feature of Farzaneh's style is the creative use of Middle Eastern prints and fabrics within sportswear staples and men's wardrobe classics such as leather jackets, trousers and shirts. This exploration, or better exportation, of her culture of origin is conducted without controversy or aggression, but she still seeks to be an honest reflection of the culture of contemporary Iran. When asked if the heavy presence of military greens and cargo pants was a reference to combat uniforms, the designer replied:

“That is for you to say. Every male in Iran has to do military service. It’s mandatory”.

Even with the choice to organize her show taking inspiration by Persian weddings, with separate female and male audiences and a distribution of traditional sweets, her purpose was to illustrate a culture, invite participation but without giving judgments.

References to Iran are not limited to graphics and silhouettes, but are related to the techniques of creating garments. As is typical of the younger generation of designers, Farzaneh is also concerned about sustainability: her prints are xylographed and handmade in Isfahan, the dyes are made with saffron and turmeric, washed in the river and dried in the sun. The culture that Paria Farzaneh proposes is young, pacifist open to sharing and contemporaneity, as demonstrated by her collaboration with Converse for the Paria x Converse Chuck 70s and the Converse One Star Mid created for the previous collections and the mixing of Gore-Tex and Thermore fabrics with persian fabrics for its techwear items. As she herself said last year, always on her own show

“The media constantly undermines the image of Iran and demonises the Middle East. That’s not the real Iran. I want to demonstrate the beauty of the culture”.