Iranian of the Day

Niki the Bijan model was

. . was in my school(Farah Shomali, Tehran) back in 1980/81. . she was a bully. . she was tall for a Persian girl, short hair and slightly green eyes. As with most girls who are considered pretty and popular she was unaware of feelings of other girls and she along her best friend Afsaneh seriously bullied me. She left and went to LA and was folding shirts in Bijan's shop for a while before becoming a model for him and putting cigars in her mouth and pose suggestively for Bijan's perfume. Where are you Niki? I am not writing your last name. Come and tell us what you do now.

Go Bijan!!

I believe to become an entrepreneur in US is not an easy task. Regardless of what he had sold before in Iran or has done, it's obvious he has done something right in past 20 years to be where he is today. I for one do praise him for his achievements. I believe anyone here with negative comment about Bijan would have been ten times more ignorant if they were in Bijan position today!

ANSWER TO ALL WRONG COMMENTS ABOUT BIJAN.

It seems nobody remember bijan's store was PALANG E SOORATI (Pink Panther) in Tehran, somebody said the right word, he came to right place and right time, with the help of the others!!!! If Bijan see this, he knows what I am talking about!
The year I came to LA, my friend who was one of the Billioners of IRAN, took me for a ride to show me the LA, we were in RODEO Dr. and he stopped in front of the BIJAN'S store, He told me, "you should know Bijan! he had PS in TEHRAN", he told me, he is young guy with lots of good ideas about clothing design and I opened this place for him, then he told me that they are partners, ofcourse it was obvious who put the money down and who was the worker! My friend, he is still noun and the most famous FAMILY in LA, BH. So many came and left like Bijan, but he obviously did something the others couldn't do!!! Always remember the one who came with the first idea, that one is the winner, and Bijan was the first one with his idea.

Bad Grammar

Nevermind his accent and his stinky perfume; he is extremely arrogant and his grammar really sucks!

You go Bijan!

When you immigrate to another country in your adulthood, you usually do not loose your accent!

As for his money etc.--- good for him, and all the more power to him.

PS. I don't know him from Aadam and I live in the Noth East.

> 40 years ...eStill no engilish

''I vaz born in Persia''... yea cool, and my friend Vincenzo is Roman.

After 40 years in the US, he still didn't loose his accent...

Yaroo am ye khorde azavi be nazar miad.

Now in order to prevent any -why_ d0_iranians_hate_iranians comment : good job vi arrre all very perrroud ov you.

Bijan pretending to be French

This guy has been pretending to be French on every late night show from Johny Carson to Jay Leno since he got famous. Not once he mentioned that he was Iranian. The name Bijan sounds french but pretending to be french or Italian makes him a typical Iranian. The Bijan brand is no longer in, umless the person is over 60 with money to burn.

Bijan sold knock offs during 1970s in Tehran

During the 1970 the best boutique in Tehran was called "Number one" managed by Keyvan Khosravani who was openly gay and had way more taste than Bijan. Bijan tried to copy it with a boutique called "Tom Thumb" and another "2000" sold cheap version knock off clothes to teen agers and hippies. He just got lucky by being in the right place at the right time.

Great Designer, An Even Better Marketer

I have no bias for or against Bijan, as I don't live in Southern California. From the interview, I like the guy. Maybe because I'm a clothes freak and love good clothes and designs. Frankly, if I had the money and if I were a man, I would buy his line. He is right, no well known designer will give you the personal service he provides. He works hard and deserves the success he has achieved. He has done more and risked more of his own personal asset than any of the Iranian dot coms who we seem to praise.

Wish he had a women's line !

interviewer

For anyone who's "upset" by the interviewer, please note that he is a well-known comedian/satirist:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Rocca

I imagine the interviewee is told about Mo Rocca and his style in advance of the interview.

Doooroood...

Be keshaye ke, hala mikhad iranie bashe ya na, betoonan az mardom intori pool begiran. Vaghan khosh behaleshoon ke enghad mokh hastan ke mitoonam yek aghide bedan ke inhame maroof she!
Hala inshoon ke enghad dar miyare, mige ke 32 sale akhare 5 ta 6 rooz kar mikone, pas key vaght mikone ke hal kone az pooli ke dar miyare?

Driving down Santa Monica

Driving down Santa Monica Blvd, close to Vestvood, there used to be a big billboard with AMIR on it. VERY VERY tacky. It's always the same, some very clean cut looking middle aged man, hair esleeeked back with lots of gel (and the hair line of course). If only I hadn's seen Bijan on Newport Beach sporting a FUR COAT!!! Maybe I would like him a it more! :)

Eccentric or Bizarre ?

I hope Mr. Bijan realizes how he helps the media portray him as somewhat bizarre and animated character, not just by the funny accent but also by his funny billboards, he insists on putting his own face on these huge billboards that is constantly on display on Santa Monica boulevard, these images get updated every few months but they invariably show Mr. Bijan in strange gestures with an exaggerated joker smile, here is an example:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/malingering/440256794...

I had no idea!!!

After visiting and chatting with him in his boutique  in Rodeo Drive in 1991 and buying one of his products , a bottle of his famous perfumes(autographed by him), I had no idea that after all these years he can lose such perfect "American" accsent(38 years here)  that he had ! 

I think having a weired accsent is the "THING" these days in LA, It's almost mandatory, it's "chic"!!

But!  you know what? more power to him, if he can sell a leather jacket for $38000.00 and a pair of dress shoes for $6900.00, good for him then. 

Anyone remember his old perfume ad with the girl in the chador?

It said something like, Jamshid, you may as well know, I am in love with...Bijan!

The girl was very beautiful and she did several ads for him. Someone once told me she was Iranian but I don't remember her name. Whatever happened to her?

But most importantly...did

But most importantly...did anyone notice his matching tasbeehs around his wrist. It was just the correct shade of chartreuse to compliment his hanky and tie.

To eyeranian

It's sort of sad isn't it?

Even with all of the contributions by Iranian-Americans (or Iranian-whatevers), people still have disdain.

To Anonymous45345

Obviously you are not from anywhere near Beverly Hills as nearly EVERYONE around here is from PERSIA and never IRAN. Even Jamshid 'Jimmy' Delshad is often introduced as "First Persian Born Mayor" (which makes him significantly older than his actual age) without any reference to IRAN, unless it's an Iranian occassion where he can pull his Santour out to play.

I think the general -and unwritten- rule here is anything negative (nukes, ahmadinejad, stonning, intolerance towards minorities) you use IRAN to describe it and for positive stuff (culture, achievements, food, arts) one must opt for PERSIA. Maybe it will be easier to one day bomb, attack or even invade Iran, but doing the same to a non-existing Persia will be impossible.

What's with the reporter

What's with the reporter asking Bijan if he is from "Persia"?

It looks to me the reporter

It looks to me the reporter is poking fun of THE Bijan!