Africa & Middle East

Islamic fashions in Tehran, Iran

Tehran, Iran – Combining fashion and modest dress codes in Iran. Islamic fashion need not be dreary, that’s the message of this collection of Islamic fashions in Tehran. And it’s images like this that the government hopes will show young people that clothing doesn’t have to be revealing to be chic.

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic regime has required all women to wear the Hijab (Islamic dress codes) in public. However the lack of inspiring domestic clothing designs has made women, especially young girls, turn to western styles of clothing

Western style clothing is favoured by many women – who adjust their modern outfits to suit Islamic dress codes. But the tide is turning in some Iranian fashion houses. With the backing of the government some designers are leaning towards a revival of Iran’s centuries old dress styles

Tehran Fashion Ideology

The Iranian regime’s latest attempt to purge the vestiges of the Green Movement from the hearts of dissatisfied Iranian youth strikes directly at the kids’ unfortunately frosted tips

Yes, the Iranian Culture Ministry has released grooming guidelines in order to guide wayward youth against looking un-Islamic. It’s easy to joke about the absurdity of the measure

But there are state-run militias designed to enforce “virtue” — that is, conformity — in Iran, so it’s no joke to the millions of people who have to live under a government measures the height of a pompadour in thermal degrees of hellfire

Similarly, in 2005, North Korea applied the secular equivalent, crafting an instructional module titled, “Let Us Trim Our Hair In Accordance With Socialist Lifestyle.”

Africa Fashion Awards 2010

Ozwald Boateng and others win Africa Fashion Awards. Africa Fashion Week drew to a glamorous close when the leading lights in the fashion industry were recognized at the second annual African Fashion Awards

South Africa’s Black Coffee won the Designer of the year award: Africa; and Nigerian born designer Duro Olowu was presented with the International designer of the year award by Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week’s organizer Fern Mallis. Both designers receive R150,000.00 prize money.

Marianne Fassler (South Africa) was acknowledged as having made the most outstanding contribution to fashion in Africa

Source: GhanaWeb

Read whole article with list of winning designers here: Ozwald Boateng and others win Africa Fashion Awards

A New Fashion Muse: The Middle East in Haute Couture

Middle Eastern-inspired fashion is currently en vogue around the world from the streets to the catwalks. But rather than merely dabbling in aesthetic exoticism, the designers and brands who are exploring the region’s sartorial traditions are drawing inspiration from a commercial viability that’s given the style such sturdy legs

Kaffiyehs were an integral part of the Eighties bohemian look worn by American girls. They caught on with Japanese teenagers in the early part of the decade, but by the mid-2000s, however, hipsters from the gritty sections of Brooklyn to the hallowed halls of New York’s universities were again seen sporting the traditional Arab attire as scarves around their necks, making a statement purely for the sake of style.

Soon, they were available at H&M, Topshop and Urban Outfitters, while Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga adorned them with charming pendants in his collegiate and tribal-inspired autumn/winter 2007 collection