The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade plans to establish centers to train fashion designers, says director general of the Textile, Apparel and Leather Industry Organization of the ministry.
Golnar Nasrollahi added that the industry would develop considerably only when all industrialists of the sector have a comprehensive knowledge of designing.
This is corroborated by experts who believe fashion design, the art of applying design and aesthetics to clothing and accessories, is the missing link in Iran’s textile industry, the Persian daily Forsat-e Emrooz reported.
Shahrokh Jafari, the managing director of Cele Bon clothing production, says, “Design, concept and style are three main pillars of any brand. With all due respect to the experienced, well-known producers, the country’s textile industry lacks any top brand. Most of our brands copy foreign works. Design, in the true sense of word, is absent from our apparel industry.”
Jafari said investors and producers spend millions on machinery but they fail to employ a professional fashion designer whose works would pay off later.
“clothing is still perceived as a luxury item,” he said.
Shahram Salehi, managing director of Tulika clothing company, said Iran’s apparel industry suffers from lack of knowhow and modern machinery.
“Our industry is still lagging far behind the rest of the world,” he said.
Salehi noted that Iranians spend as much as $7 billion on clothing every year, around $5.5 billion of which are grabbed by legal or illegal importers of garments.
“The figure shows the potential for work in this sector,” he said.
However, Salehi is confident about the future of the industry in the post-sanctions period.
“The sector can become the turbocharger of the economy, if our designers were to think about design and brand building, rather than copying and imitating others. If not, we would lose the market to Turkey,” he concluded.
Echoing the same sentiments, Mahmoud Nabavi, managing director of Cylon Company, said, “Excessive imports badly hurt domestic production in recent years. Around 85% of the country’s clothing businesses don’t have designing department.”
