Sewn in Secret : Iranian Designers

Models strutted down the catwalk in high heels to the blare of Persian pop, while chatty women gawked at wispy dresses showing off shoulders, legs, and arms--sometimes all at once. The fashion show, held in the ballroom of a Tehran apartment complex last month, would be pedestrian in the West. But by just attending the surreptitious event, the 275 women there were committing a crime.

While Iran's strict Islamic dress code requires women to wear the form--hiding manteau overcoat and a hijab that covers the hair, there is a quietly growing demand for homegrown haute couture. Despite an unprecedented security crackdown following the summer's disputed presidential election, a network of high-end underground fashion designers, photographers, and models continue their subversive work, sketching, cutting patterns, conducting fittings, and …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: Sewn in Secret : Iranian Designers. Contributors: Not available. Magazine title: Newsweek International. Volume: 154. Issue: 13 Publication date: September 28, 2009. Page number: Not available. © 2009 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.