Iranian fashion designer: Individuality vs. strict norms

DW (English)

Like all schoolgirls in Iran, Sepideh Ahadi had to wear a uniform. Now, as a Berlin-based fashion designer, she stresses individuality through her clothes.

Transcript

00:00Asymmetrical, casual, chic and profound – these are the words to describe Sepideh Ahadi's

00:12creations.

00:13Sepideh began studying fashion in her home country, Iran, and finished in Italy.

00:18She's lived in Berlin since 2018.

00:21The essence of my work is uniqueness and that's what I brought somehow from Iran with me.

00:29We are forced to wear the same uniform in the school.

00:36Whenever I was finishing my day at the school, I really wanted to wear something that it

00:42just like show who I am.

00:44Sepideh also strives to offer her customers the opportunity to express their individuality

00:49through fashion.

00:50So many of her pieces are versatile.

00:54I truly believe that it's really important to ask the wearer, the person who wears the

01:02clothes, to also add something to each design and this democratic way of designing is something

01:09that I always think about and I care about.

01:12She grew up with three sisters, her cousins, aunts and grandmother on Iran's northern

01:17coast.

01:19This feminine energy is an important component of her creations and influences the choice

01:24of models for her campaigns and shows.

01:27It's not just about the way how the model looks like, it's also about the accept the

01:35differences the way that we look and the way that each age has its own beauty and I think

01:46these are also something that we miss somehow in the fashion industry.

01:50For her collection called Castle of Shirin, Sepideh chose saffron yellow.

01:55She regards it as the color of women who share dreams and provide mutual support.

02:01Rice flavored with saffron is said to grant wishes.

02:03We stir it together while we are stirring, we dream of something and then we ask it and

02:11we stir it in the hope of like achieving it.

02:13So for me that moment played a big role in my life and then the time that I designed

02:19this collection I was really missing this togetherness, I really felt that I need to

02:26do something with this big hole that I have in my heart.

02:31Sepideh learned the importance of sustainability in the fashion industry in Italy.

02:37She makes sure her creations are made in Europe only and as fairly and ecologically as possible.

02:44I use leftover materials, this is where the sustainable part of my work plays the main

02:53character.

02:54And then when I use the leftover materials it gives me this limitation and freedom to

03:03make the unique pieces.

03:05Berlin provides an ideal environment for her creative ideas.

03:10She can find inspiration in the city's flea markets and antique shops.

03:17I like the forms, you know, and also the colors, sometimes they remind me of something.

03:24For example, that's one of my favorite colors when I'm collecting the glasses because it

03:29reminds me of a very special stone and the color in Iran that is called Firoze.

03:35So I have a collection of the glasses in this color.

03:41Many things in Germany's capital remind Sepideh of Iran.

03:44This constant shift between cultures is also reflected in her work.

03:49Her designs are inspired by her life in Germany as well as her memories of Iran and her family

03:54there.

03:55This collection is really important for me and the name of the collection is My Name

04:00is Taj and it's about my grandmother who had Alzheimer and she was living basically two

04:05different lives at the same time and that's why I created everything double, so double

04:11color as you see it's just like two colors at the same time and double layer so in this

04:17collection everything was about layering and double.

04:21Along with fashion, Sepideh's second love is cooking.

04:25When preparing traditional dishes, she feels a connection to her homeland.

04:30She still misses many things, in particular her family whom she visits once a year.

04:39It happens a lot to me that I feel homesick.

04:42I miss my sisters, my parents, the smells of the cities, the sounds, like everything,

04:54everything about my country, about Iran.

04:57Still, Sepideh Ahadi has made a home in Berlin, but without losing her roots.

05:02Her fashion is an expression of her creativity, but also a plea for freedom and diversity.

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