An Iranian woman in Tehran (2019)
An Iranian woman wearing modern Persian boots in Tehran (2020)

Fashion and clothing in Iran is divided into several historical periods. The exact date of the emergence of weaving in Iran is not yet known, but it is likely to coincide with the emergence of civilization. Clothing in Iran is mentioned in Persian mythology. Ferdowsi and many historians have considered Keyumars to be the inventor of the use of animals' skin and hair as clothing. Some historians have also mentioned Hushang as the first inventor of the use of living skins as clothing. Ferdowsi considers Tahmuras to be a kind of textile initiator in Iran. There are historical discoveries in northern Iran from about 6,000 BC that refer to wool weaving at the time. Other discoveries in central Iran dating back to 4200 BC have shown that the animals' skin has not been the only clothing worn on the Iranian plateau since those years. The clothing of ancient Iran took an advanced form, and the fabric and color of clothing became very important at that time. Depending on the social status, eminence, climate of the region and the season, Persian clothing during the Achaemenian period took various forms. The philosophy used in this clothing, in addition to being functional, also had an aesthetic role.

One of the main features of Iranian women's fashion is wearing high-heeled boots. The history of this feature goes back to ancient Iran.

Beauty pageant festivals inside Iran were not held after the 1979 revolution, and the last selection ceremony of the beauty queen of Iran was held in 1978 in this country. After this, a high number of Iranian girls participated in the Beauty pageant and Miss Universe outside of Iran. Sahar Biniaz (Miss Universe Canada 2012) and Shermineh Shahrivar (Miss Germany and Miss Europe) are examples of Iranian models outside Iran.

History

Fashion in Iran is divided into several historical periods. The exact date of the emergence of weaving in Iran is not yet known, but it is likely to coincide with the emergence of civilization. Clothing in Iran is mentioned in Persian mythology. Ferdowsi and many historians have considered Keyumars to be the inventor of the use of animals' skin and hair as clothing. Some historians have also mentioned Hushang as the first inventor of the use of living skins as clothing. Ferdowsi considers Tahmuras to be a kind of textile initiator in Iran.[1] There are historical discoveries in northern Iran from about 6,000 BC that refer to wool weaving at the time. Other discoveries in central Iran dating back to 4200 BC have shown that the animals' skin has not been the only clothing worn on the Iranian plateau since those years. The clothing of ancient Iran took an advanced form, and the fabric and color of clothing became very important at that time. Depending on the social status, eminence, climate of the region and the season, Persian clothing during the Achaemenian period took various forms. The philosophy used in this clothing, in addition to being functional, also had an aesthetic role.[1]

Persian Boots

An Iranian woman wearing leather boots in 2018

Ancient Persians used to wear leather high-heeled boots. Both Persian women and men wore varieties of "tall" boots. In modern era, boot became a main and common footwear among Iranian women, and this influenced the Iranian fashion industry. The sale of women's boots in Iran was reported ten times more than men's boots in a report in the 2000s.[2]

One of the main features of Iranian women's fashion is wearing high-heeled boots. Although later hijab was considered to be the main feature.[2]

After 1979 revolution

In Iran, since 1981, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the hijab has become compulsory. All women are required to wear loose-fitting clothing and a headscarf in public.[3][4]

The festivals of the Beauty pageant inside Iran were not held after the 1979 revolution, and the last selection ceremony of the beauty queen of Iran was held in 1978 in this country. After this, a high number of Iranian girls participated in the Beauty pageant and Miss Universe outside of Iran. Sahar Biniaz (Miss Universe Canada 2012) and Shermineh Shahrivar (Miss Germany and Miss Europe) are examples of Iranian models outside Iran.[5][6][7]

Girls of Enghelab was a series of protests against compulsory hijab in Iran. The protests were inspired by Vida Movahed, an Iranian woman known as the Girl of Enghelab Street, who stood in the crowd on a utility box in the Enghelab Street (Revolution Street) of Tehran on 27 December 2017, tied her hijab, a white headscarf, to a stick, and waved it to the crowd as a flag. She was arrested on that day and was released temporary on bail a month later, on 28 January 2018. Some people believe that Movahed's action was based on Masih Alinejad's call for White Wednesdays, a protest movement that the presenter at VOA Persian Television started in early 2017. Other women later re-enacted her protest and posted photos of their actions on social media. These women are described as the "Girls of Enghelab Street" and "The Girls Of Revolution Street"[8] in the English sources.

Protests against the compulsory hijab have been common since 1979, with one of the largest protests taking place between 8 and 14 March 1979, beginning on International Women's Day and a day after hijab rules were introduced by the Islamic Republic.[9] Protests against mandatory hijab rules continued, such as during the 2019–2020 protests, when protesters attacked a Guidance Patrol van and freed two detained women.[10]

In 2020, two representatives of Iranian government leader Ali Khamenei separately said that improperly veiled women should be made to feel "unsafe". The representatives later backtracked and said that their comments were misunderstood.[11] Among the general population, an independent survey conducted in the same year showed that 58% of Iranians did not believe in hijab altogether, and 72% were against compulsory hijab rules. Only 15% insisted on the legal obligation to wear it in public.[12][13]

Women's fashion

Iranian fashion model wearing Persian leather boots
Iranian women's clothing (High end) before the 1979 revolution.

Attempts at changing dress norms (and perspectives toward it) occurred in mid-1930s when pro-Western ruler Reza Shah issued a decree banning all veils.[14][15][16][17][18] Many types of male traditional clothing were also banned.[19][20][21] Western historians state that this would have been a progressive step if women had indeed chosen to do it themselves, but instead this ban humiliated and alienated many Iranian women,[22][23][24][16] since its effect was comparable to the hypothetical situation in which the European women had suddenly been ordered to go out topless into the street.[22][19][20][21]

A far larger escalation of violence occurred in the summer of 1935 when Reza Shah ordered all men to wear European-style bowler hat, which was Western par excellence. This provoked massive non-violent demonstrations in July in the city of Mashhad.[24][15][17][19][20][21][25] This decision by Reza Shah was criticized even by British consul in Tehran.[26] Later, official measures relaxed slightly under next ruler and wearing of the headscarf or chador was no longer an offence, but for his regime it became a significant hindrance to climbing the social ladder as it was considered a badge of backwardness and an indicator of being a member of the lower class.[22]

A few years prior to the Iranian revolution, a tendency towards questioning the relevance of Eurocentric gender roles as the model for Iranian society gained much ground among university students, and this sentiment was manifested in street demonstrations where many women from the non-veiled middle classes put on the veil[14][22][15][27][28] and symbolically rejected the gender ideology of Pahlavi regime and its aggressive deculturalization.[14][22][15][16][28] Wearing of headscarf and chador was one of main symbols of the 1979 revolution,[15][16][29][28] Wearing headscarves and chadors was used as a significant populist tool and Iranian veiled women played an important rule in the revolution's victory.[22][16][18] Since hijab was legally imposed on all Iranian women in 1984,[28] post revolutionary Iranian women's fashion has seen Iranian women attempt to work within the narrow confines of the Islamic modesty code, with the typical attire gradually evolving from the standard black chador to a rousari (simple headscarf) combined with other colorful elements of clothing.[23][25]

Before the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 (during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran), the hijab and chador were brutally suppressed and banned, though some Iranian women during this period wore headscarfs or chador.[30][31]

In the Islamic law of Iran imposed shortly after the 1979 revolution, article 638 of 5th book of Islamic Penal Code (called Sanctions and deterrent penalties) women who do not wear a hijab may be imprisoned from ten days to two months, and/or required to pay fines from 50,000 up to 500,000 rials.[32] Fines are recalculated in the courts to index for inflation.

Article 639 of the same book says, two types of people shall be sentenced one year to ten years' imprisonment; first a person who establishes or directs a place of immorality or prostitution, second, a person who facilitates or encourages people to commit immorality or prostitution.[33]

Iran has an advanced leather industry for women's clothing, however, it needs technology development for export.[34]

Agencies and Models

There is a range of fashion models from Iran (and Iranian-born) that made it to a high-level fame, such as Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Farzan Athari, Sahar Biniaz, Mahlagha Jaberi, Mandana Karimi, Aylar Lie, Leyla Milani, Shermine Shahrivar and Sadaf Taherian.

Social networks

Social networks have played a significant role in increasing the income from modeling in Iran. The influence of Instagram in the expansion of fashion photography in Iran has been mentioned by the Iranian media.[35]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 پوشاک در ایران باستان، فریدون پوربهمن/ت: هاجر ضیاء سیکارودی، امیرکبیر. 2007. pp. 24, 25, 57.
  2. 1 2 هشت هزار سال تارىخ پوشاک اقوام ايرانى - نسخه اصلاح و به‌روزشده ۱۴۰۲ - ۴۵ تا ۵۶.
  3. ↑ Ramezani, Reza (2010). Hijab dar Iran az Enqelab-e Eslami ta payan Jang-e Tahmili [Hijab in Iran from the Islamic Revolution to the end of the Imposed war] (Persian), Faslnamah-e Takhassusi-ye Banuvan-e Shi’ah [Quarterly Journal of Shiite Women], Qom: Muassasah-e Shi’ah Shinasi, ISSN 1735-4730
  4. ↑ Milani, Farzaneh (1992). Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers, Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, p. 19, 34–37, ISBN 9780815602668
  5. ↑ "مسابقه ملکه زیبایی ایران در کانادا". رادیو فردا (in Persian). Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  6. ↑ "ملکه زیبایی ایرانی‌تبار در شو تلویزیونی "آلمان می‌رقصد"". Deutsche Welle (in Persian). 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  7. ↑ نیوز, اخبار روز ایران و جهان | آفتاب. "بازیگر ایرانی، دختر شایسته کانادا شد!؟ +عکس". fa (in Persian). Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  8. ↑ "In Tehran, New Hijab Protester Led Off By Police". VOA. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  9. ↑ Thirty-five Years of Forced Hijab: The Widespread and Systematic Violation of Women's Rights in Iran (PDF) (Report). Justice for Iran. March 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Qiblawi, Tamara (20 February 2019). "Iranians attack police after women detained for wearing hijabs 'improperly'". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  11. ↑ Fazeli, Yaghoub (5 October 2020). "'Improperly veiled' women should be made to feel unsafe, say Iran supreme leader reps". Al Arabiya. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  12. ↑ Maleki, Ammar; Arab, Pooyan Tamimi (August 2020). IRANIANS' ATTITUDES TOWARD RELIGION: A 2020 SURVEY REPORT (PDF) (Report). The Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in IRAN (GAMAAN). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Observer view on the backlash in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini". The Guardian. 25 September 2022. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 Hoodfar, Homa (fall 1993). The Veil in Their Minds and On Our Heads: The Persistence of Colonial Images of Muslim Women, Resources for feminist research (RFR) / Documentation sur la recherche féministe (DRF), Vol. 22, n. 3/4, pp. 5–18, Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE), ISSN 0707-8412
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Milani, Farzaneh (1992). Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers, Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, pp. 19, 34–37, ISBN 9780815602668
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Paidar, Parvin (1995): Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran, Cambridge Middle East studies, Vol. 1, Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 106–107, 214–215, 218–220, ISBN 9780521473408
  17. 1 2 Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2001). Great Britain and Reza Shah: The Plunder of Iran, 1921–1941, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, pp. 209–13, 217–218, ISBN 9780813021119
  18. 1 2 Curtis, Glenn E.; Hooglund, Eric (2008). Iran: A Country Study, 5th ed, Area handbook series, Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, pp. 28, 116–117, ISBN 9780844411873
  19. 1 2 3 Katouzian, Homa (2003). "2. Riza Shah's Political Legitimacy and Social Base, 1921–1941" in Cronin, Stephanie: The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society under Riza Shah, 1921–1941, pp. 15–37, London; New York: Routledge; Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9780415302845
  20. 1 2 3 Katouzian, Homa (2004). "1. State and Society under Reza Shah" in Atabaki, Touraj; Zürcher, Erik-Jan: Men of Order: Authoritarian Modernisation in Turkey and Iran, 1918–1942, pp. 13–43, London; New York: I.B. Tauris, ISBN 9781860644269
  21. 1 2 3 Katouzian, Homa (2006). State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis, 2nd ed, Library of modern Middle East studies, Vol. 28, London; New York: I.B. Tauris, pp. 33–34, 335–336, ISBN 9781845112721
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 El Guindi, Fadwa (1999). Veil: Modesty, Privacy and Resistance, Oxford; New York: Berg Publishers; Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 3, 13–16, 130, 174–176, ISBN 9781859739242
  23. 1 2 Heath, Jennifer (2008). The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics, Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 66, 252–253, 256, 260, ISBN 9780520255180
  24. 1 2 Chehabi, Houchang Esfandiar (2003): "11. The Banning of the Veil and Its Consequences" in Cronin, Stephanie: The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society under Riza Shah, 1921–1941, pp. 203–221, London; New York: Routledge; Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9780415302845
  25. 1 2 Beeman, William Orman (2008). The Great Satan vs. the Mad Mullahs: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other, 2nd ed, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 108, 152, ISBN 9780226041476
  26. ↑ Abrahamian, Ervand (2008). A History of Modern Iran, Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 84, 94–95, ISBN 9780521528917
  27. ↑ Gheiby, Bijan; Russell, James R.; Algar, Hamid (1990). "Čādor (2)" in Yarshater, Ehsan: Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 6, pp. 609–611, London; New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, ISBN 9780710091321
  28. 1 2 3 4 Ramezani, Reza (spring 2007). Hijab dar Iran az Enqelab-e Eslami ta payan Jang-e Tahmili [Hijab in Iran from the Islamic Revolution to the end of the Imposed war] (Persian), Faslnamah-e Takhassusi-ye Banuvan-e Shi’ah [Quarterly Journal of Shiite Women] 11, Qom: Muassasah-e Shi’ah Shinasi, pp. 251–300, ISSN 1735-4730
  29. ↑ Ramezani, Reza (2008). Hijab dar Iran, dar doure-ye Pahlavi-ye dovvom [Hijab in Iran, the second Pahlavi era] (Persian), Faslnamah-e Takhassusi-ye Banuvan-e Shi’ah [Quarterly Journal of Shiite Women], Qom: Muassasah-e Shi’ah Shinasi, ISSN 1735-4730
  30. ↑ El Guindi, Fadwa (1999). Veil: Modesty, Privacy and Resistance. Oxford; New York: Berg Publishers; Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 3, 13–16, 130, 174–176. ISBN 9781859739242.
  31. ↑ Abrahamian, Ervand (2008). A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 84, 94–95. ISBN 9780521528917.
  32. ↑ "638". Book #5 of the Islamic Penal Code (Sanctions and deterrent penalties) (in Persian).
  33. ↑ "639". Book #5 of the Islamic Penal Code (Sanctions and deterrent penalties) (in Persian).
  34. ↑ "صنعت چرم کشور در انتظار توسعه فناوری". ایرنا (in Persian). 2020-11-15. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  35. ↑ YJC, خبرگزاری باشگاه خبرنگاران | آخرین اخبار ایران و جهان | (22 January 2022). "مدلینگ گرایی؛ باتلاقی مدرن در نزدیکی جوانان/ ژست بگیرید تا کسب درآمد کنید!". fa (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-06-16.
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