# Farnaz Abdoli

Farnaz Abdoli is an Iranian fashion designer who founded her own women's wear brand, POOSH-e MA, in 2011.
Abdoli is known for bright colours and Western-influenced patterns and cuts while staying within the dress code of Iran's Islamic law. This has led to conflicts between the Iranian government and her brand. Abdoli's agenda for her brand is to challenge the government, but more importantly, to allow Iranian women to express themselves through fashion.

## Early life and education

Abdoli grew up in Shiraz, Iran, with her family. Her future career grew from designing clothes for herself and her sister, which her mother would then sew. Abdoli is grateful to her mother for allowing her to be passionate about the fashion industry. Abdoli is fluent in both Persian and English.
Abdoli's education began at the Art College of Shiraz (2007 to 2009), where she received her associate degree in graphic design. She then attended Sariyan University in Sari, Iran. After 2 years of study (2009 to 2011), she received a bachelor's degree in graphic design. During her four years of education, Abdoli also worked as a freelance graphic designer. Abdoli began to study fashion in 2014 at Istituto Europeo di Design, Barcelona (IED Barcelona) where she studied a short course in fashion/apparel design. Abdoli received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Shahid Beheshti University from 2014 to 2015.
She has described her love for fashion as originating when she was a young girl living in Iran; "As a young girl I wasn't able to find my desired streetwear". This was due to the effects of the Iranian Revolution, which had ushered in an Islamic government and introduced sanctions on women and subjected them to wearing Hijabs and other loose-fitting and modest clothing. This law was established by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was the leader of the Basij Militia, which enforced this dress code across Iran, and women who resisted following the legally-required dress-code were arrested.

## POOSH-e MA

Since 2012, Abdoli's main focus has been on developing her own brand called POOSH-e MA. Originally called "Poosh" (meaning "cloth" in Persian), the brand was founded in 2011. Abdoli is the founder, senior designer and the creative director in the company. As a side job, Abdoli is currently working as an actress too, working in a theatre since 2007. Her first collection involved a collaboration with "Street Style Fashion" which set in the "Shiveh Gallery" in Shiraz.
Abdoli and Vojoodi brought out their 2013 Spring/Summer collection, which brought the attention of news agencies such as newspapers in Iran, California and Germany, BBC World News, BBC Persian, Germany Radio and CNN. The media describes the brand as "innovative, bold and fresh whilst being respectful to women of Iran," and "colourful and modern". Abdoli has showcased further collections including POOSH-e MA Fall/Winter 2013/14, which introduced her 'Smile Collection'. Then she launched her Spring/Summer floral collection in 2014 and lastly her Fall/Winter 2014/15 collection. For these shows she worked alongside other Iranian artists and designers including Reza Alaeddini, Hadi Qashqaei, Mohammadreza Rezania, Majid Haghighi Khoshbakht and her co-worker, Mohammad Reza Vojoodi.

## Conflict with Iranian government

Abdoli has faced scrutiny from Iranian authorities for allegedly promoting styles that deviated from the prescribed dress codes.
In 2013, her designs were criticized in Iranian media, with conservative outlets describing her collections as provocative. There was skepticism from Iranian women asking if her collection was appropriate to wear outside. Moreover, POOSH-e Ma's 2013 Spring/Summer collection experienced an adverse reaction from the media; the Bultan News website described Abdoli's collection as "the Spring prostitution campaign" and had accused her fashion brand of being illicit. The claim of POOSH-e Ma being 'too provocative' is because her models wear leggings rather than wide leg trousers, three-quarter sleeve tops rather than long sleeved tunics and tighter fitting clothes rather than loose clothing.
In 2015, Abdoli claimed Iran has changed for the better stating that "Now you can't count the number of people involved in fashion in Iran, with many companies holding training for modelling and designing and even offering certificates." As POOSH-e MA gained popularity,
In 2016, Iranian police cracked down on unlicensed fashion activities, shutting down 800 shops and issued an additional 3,000 formal warnings, including to Abdoli. POOSH-e MA received backlash following this event from Iranian MP, Zohreh Tabibzadeh. She described Abdoli's collection (which contained the word 'Queen') as a "calculated plan to subvert traditional values" and also declared that Abdoli's collection was an "ugly manifestation of a Western trend that has entered our country with evil intentions devised behind the scenes." She did not shut down her brand and drew support from international fashion media and rights organizations.

## International recognition

Abdoli's work has been featured by international media outlets, including BBC Persian, The Guardian, Suitcase Magazine, and CNN, which highlighted her role in reshaping Iran's fashion landscape. In interviews, Abdoli has expressed her belief that fashion serves as a powerful tool for women's empowerment and cultural change.

## Personal life

Farnaz Abdoli is fluent in Persian and English. In addition to her career in fashion, Abdoli has participated in theater productions and creative collaborations.