Perhaps the biggest challenge in Iranian fashion history has been the struggle between the old and the new. Iranians have famously been fashion innovators trying to balance expectations of the different tastes in their community. One can see this in Iran today where despite strict vestimentary laws, designers and fashion creaters have displayed much creativity and even taste to curtail conventional and or traditional social restrictions.
For the diaspora also, since many reluctantly were driven away from their country, meaning that connecting with their heritage and culture has been all the more important.
The diaspora youth in particular, be it the first generation like myself, or the second generation which was born abroad, has had to overcome cultural and racial stereotypes. Not only as immigrants but also like all teenagers or young adults we were confronted with the universal dilemma of having to develop our individuality while trying to define a collective identity to which we could relate to.
Iranian fashion designers in the diaspora lost one of their great peers this year, Bijan Pakzad who certainly paved the road for much younger talents today like Amir or Nimany to name a few who are also setting examples for other creative ventures.
