IRANIAN actress Leila Hatami, star of the Oscar-winning film A Separation, showed up to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival wearing a long-sleeved blouse, floor-length skirt and a headscarf.
By Western red carpet standards her attire was beyond conservative, but her exposed neck drew harsh criticism from Iranian media.
Then there's 2003 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Shirin Ebadi, who has been denounced by Iranian authorities for appearing abroad without a hijab - the traditional Islamic head covering for women, compulsory in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
North Vancouver resident Jamileh Pourfouladchi flips through her fashion design portfolio, gesturing to photographs of Hatami, Ebadi and other prominent women from Iran, singled out for not conforming to the Islamic regime's strict public dress code while abroad.
"Because their pictures are all over the media, when they go back to Iran, if they don't have the Islamic hijab they are in trouble," explains Pourfouladchi, who immigrated to Canada from Tehran, Iran in 1996.
The 52-year-old is a soon-to-be graduate of Kwantlen Polytechnic University's design, fashion and technology program, currently gearing up for a year-end fashion show April 17 at the River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond. Fourth-year students are tasked with developing a clothing line for a niche market and for Pourfouladchi, identifying that market was easy.
She created her Gentle Love collection for jet-setting Iranian women who want the freedom to dress as they please while abroad, but who still want to maintain a sense of national identity. The line features bold colours, natural fabrics and silhouettes inspired by traditional Iranian garments.
"This is something that gives (women) the idea of freedom, and they can feel the breeze and the air," Pourfouladchi says.
Prints mix modern and traditional symbols, and all include a white dove as a symbol of peace and freedom.
"I wanted to say that love is gentle, and don't force people to try to change their ideas."
Pourfouladchi says that while many Iranian women embrace the hijab, there are countless others, including herself, who see it as a symbol of oppression. Still, all her outfits include an optional scarf, which can quickly be pulled over the head - a feature Pourfouladchi designed for women in the public eye who are liable to be caught on camera.
Pourfouladchi knows well the feeling of oppression. As a university student in the years following the Iranian Revolution, she was hauled in to the police station on a number of occasions when a lock of hair came loose from her hijab. She had to call her father to pick her up.
"When I was a student, at that time, we were to wear just black, brown and grey," she recalls, explaining that acceptable clothing colours are not as limited today.
Pourfouladchi and her husband immigrated to Canada when their daughter was barely two years old. It was a difficult decision - they loved their home country - but Pourfouladchi had her child's best interests in mind.
"When my daughter was born, my idea of living changed. I didn't want my daughter to have all these problems," she says.
A lifelong art enthusiast, Pourfouladchi studied fine art at Capilano University and has always enjoyed painting in her spare time. She was nervous to go back to school later in life, but excited by the opportunity to intern at Lululemon, where she has a position digitizing patterns.
One of her first school assignments was to design a scarf. "It reminded me of my country and how a scarf is some kind of mask and people hate it right now because they have to cover themselves with certain colours," she says.
What she produced, and still proudly wears around her neck today, is a turquoise swath of fabric printed with images of fawns and the famous Che Guevara quote "Hasta la victoria siempre" ("Until victory, always").
Not quite yet a fashion school graduate, Pourfouladchi says she has already received inquiries from women interested in her Gentle Love line, including her mother, who also immigrated to Canada. "She loves it and she wants to wear it to Iran when she's travelling in the summer," Pourfouladchi says.
To purchase tickets to The Show, visit kwantlen.ca/theshow.
