I drape a coat over my mother’s shoulders, completing a circle begun long ago. She was the first to dress me as a child, and now I return that gesture through design. My mother was my earliest fashion influence, the one who selected my baby clothes and shaped how I first presented to the world. Psychoanalysts from Sigmund Freud to D. W. Winnicott noted the profound impact of this bond: Freud saw the mother as a child’s first love object (the Oedipus complex) , and Winnicott wrote that a mother’s face is an infant’s first mirror, reflecting the child’s self back to them . I was, like every child, swathed in textiles chosen by loving hands.
Philosophers and poets have long understood the sacred stature of motherhood. Persian mystic Rumi wrote, “We are born of love; Love is our mother”. In this mini collection, I honor that reverence by making my own mother both model and muse. This inversion of roles becomes a study in duality and restraint, creating a gentle tension between presence and absence. She stands before the camera in my clothes, fully present, yet the memory of the child she once dressed lingers like an invisible aura.
The set design reinforces this narrative. Photographed amid classical sculptures, my Iranian mother becomes a living statue – a muse framed by ancestral symbols. The statues beside her stand like guardian figures watching over her, just as she watched over me in childhood. This tableau bridges past and present, merging our Persian heritage with a cosmopolitan vision.
The fashion itself balances modesty and boldness, echoing the gentle comfort and formidable strength of maternal love. Each look embraces simplicity and structure, finding poetry in contrasts – dark and light, soft draping and sharp tailoring – mirroring the dual nature of motherhood. All garments are handmade from organic, eco-friendly materials – an homage to Mother Earth and to the nurturing craft passed down through generations.
Ultimately, this mini ready-to-wear collection posits that fashion can narrate a story of nurture and identity. The first clothes we ever wear, chosen by our mothers, leave an indelible imprint on our sense of self. By dressing the person who first dressed me, I weave a personal tale of gratitude and continuity. It is a reminder that behind every stitch lies an origin story – in this case, a mother’s enduring influence and the love that forms the fabric of who we are.
Mini collection called: “The Quiet Loom of Memory” Evokes weaving and introspection. The loom is a motif for making cloth (and making history); memory grounds it in the past. Inspired by Bourgeois identifying with her tapestry-weaver mother and using thread to mend her trauma , this title suggests stitching together generations in hushed contemplation.