Fashion as a political statement and a mean to rebel against social inequality, discrimination, and oppression. Gelareh Mofazali is a 23 years young Iranian fashion designer, who launched her punk collection reflecting upon the social situation of her country. For certain prejudices and norms, she’s yearning to be a part of change and progression. She speaks to us about the delicacy of the way politics and art inspired her to stand with hopes for freedom in cultures alike.

How was your childhood? Please describe your social and cultural environment growing up.

I was born in Isfahan, Iran in 1999, but growing up, we moved to different cities before I moved to the UK for university. So I am kind of used to not getting attached to a particular place and being displaced at times, but also getting to know different groups of people. My parents were really supportive of my artistic practices; however, I went in a different direction in my education and carried on doing anything art-related on the side. Fortunately for me, my parents weren’t conservative despite the social and political climate of Iran. basically, you get this idea from your childhood that there could be a massive difference in your family and friend’s values practiced, compared to what you are taught in school and see in society (Iran’s government and education are strongly tied to theology and patriarchy) and it becomes the norm to live and experience this contradiction. In a way, when I look at me and my friends, I realized our values and beliefs are really hard-earned since we had to first question what we were taught in school, then find our own voice and go against it in our mind, kind of a massive internal battle but with a light at the end of the tunnel.

What were your creative and artistic influences and practices? How did you discover the world of fashion?

I was lucky enough that my parents value art practices so they sent me to an art specialized kindergarten (quite rare at the time) which pretty much shaped my interest in art in childhood. but it was my first and last art education in Iran and later on I moved on into a different major as being a fashion designer seemed quite unlikely for my future in Iran at the time.

I was interested in garments and designing from early on, so I guess what got me interested in fashion was spending time with my grandmother who was a seamstress, and also watching foreign fashion TV channels that were illegal at the time and they still are! I started drawing fashions sketches together with practicing painting and Persian calligraphy whilst in school. Growing up in Iran, you don’t regularly have access to fashion magazines or books, there is no news about it in the media and then there is the ministry of guidance ( and morality police) censoring the media and people. whatever I knew was gathered from watching foreign TV channels (an illegal thing but everybody does have it) and later on social media that became a blessing in helping me understand the global fashion scene more.

I pretty much developed my fashion practice since starting to study fashion design in university.

What was your motivation behind the collection? What do you aim to change or bring to the front with this collection?

This collection is a reflection on my previous work in university since graduating in 2020 during Covid19’s lockdown. Having graduated from London during a challenging time, I had to come back to my home country facing a vague and unpredictable future. And I realized in order to cope with the challenges of an interrupted final collection and relocating to my home country with a minimal fashion scene, I have to make another collection looking back at my previous work and my inspiration at the time and then. In order to understand my visual and design identity more in-depth. being an Iranian woman myself, I used this collection to explore the idea of small yet significant means of freedom that individuals under socio-political pressures create for themselves through subverting, or negotiating with borders of power. To me, often it’s not about making significant big changes but rather disrupting existing imposed structures with small changes. I explored this concept through experimental pattern-cutting, breaking through the sartorial garment, and playing with the idea of hiding & seek while having bold and fun elements showing the excitement of practicing one’s agency and freedom.

What films and music artists do you resonate the most with?

I do get more inspiration from music artists than films so I would say right now I am really resonating with experimental bands in how they approach their practice. basically being open to new ideas and just doing what they want which is pretty liberating and inspiring for my own practice in fashion. I do listen to a wide range of music but I would say right now, the voids, crumb, idle, feu! Chatterton is my go-to.

What future do you imagine for the Country of Iran and Iranian women down the line?

It’s really challenging to answer this question since it is very tied to the political future of Iran. Although socially and politically, it is very oppressive and doesn’t seem to get better any soon, individual groups and communities are advancing on their own in terms of finding their own voice and subjectivity. And it means these unbalanced power relations might get more complex which allows individuals to practice their own agency more, even if it’s in the border of public and private. I believe Having a growing fashion scene with all these restrictions, is a sign of that as it is a platform for resistance and change, though it takes time.

What do you understand about the art of clothing and designing? Why is fashion important for society and activism in particular?

I think If we think of clothing not as a layer covering the body but rather considering the body and the clothing as a whole, each defining the other, to me, it automatically makes fashion a platform for activism. Since it tangles into an individual’s being and their practice of agency. And I think although it seems like activism draws attention to a group of people rather individuals it actually operates on setting the value on individuals’ life within that group and fashion has a lot to say about that.

If not fashion designing, what do you imagine yourself doing? What struggles and restrictions do you find being a fashion designer with a political voice and sustainable approach?

I would say I am really interested in research practices and critical thinking around philosophical and social matters. I really enjoyed the process of my dissertation research so I could see myself going in direction of being a researcher as well.

In terms of restrictions, it is really tied to where I am based. Right now that I am in Iran, I have to be really careful and subtle in my political voice for safety reasons, and in terms of sustainability, it is quite restricting compared to the UK. For example, there is no recycled or organic fabric I can get my hand on here. Or being able to collaborate with factories for getting their deadstock fabric ended up being unsuccessful at the moment. So I focused on partially doing upcycling and limited production and being conscious during production.

However, it was a bit different in the UK. Firstly, being from the middle east in the UK, I yet again have to balance my political voice in my fashion practice in order for it not to turn into a distant subject to be fantasized and glamorized into a different image. And sustainability, although more often practiced than in Iran, is still challenging since it seems like young fashion designers are expected to be completely sustainable from the start while fashion houses and big fashion brands are still not anywhere close to rethinking and changing their processes.

What other matters and issues do concern you about your country, feminism, and environment?

Right now, Iran is in a pretty critical situation. Iranian people are under massive economic problems due to sanctions. The oppressive structure of the government doesn’t allow the activist to safely advocate women’s rights and environmental issues. And unfortunately, you can sense a national depression going through Iranian people esp. young people as it’s quite impossible for them to plan or imagine a decent future for themselves in their own country, so we are more going day by day and focusing on the present.

Please describe your future goals and desires for the coming next collection and projects.

I am planning to become more sustainable in my practice as I go, with a bit of trial and error and research at the same time, as it takes time to find your own process of developing a sustainable collection. Also, since I came back to my home country, I’m beginning to know a lot of amazingly creative people so I would like to do more collaborations for the upcoming projects.