Over the past few years, the fashion industry has glittered in Tehran.
Iranian fashionistas are no longer settling for the custom designs and wish to embrace the best of the modern fashion industry, according to Taliyeh Imani, a well-established Iranian designer who has outfitted the Iranian celebrities visiting the Cannes Film Festival.
True. Iranians are seeking the latest in cool elegance, as well as the glitz and glam pervading the fashion capitals.
As with any other promising Iranian industry, Internet-based businesses here have also managed to keep up with the world of fashion.
Since 2014, the capital got its very own Tehran Fashion Week: a series of events displaying the work of top Iranian designers.
The city now has a Fashion Designers Association as well as the Fashion and Couture Foundation affiliated to the Ministry of Culture. The latter lends local designers a good deal of support while registering the copyright of their designs.
Limanza, a newly-founded startup, is attempting to seize on the growth of the fashion industry.
The startup website is an e-commerce platform for clothing and accessories created by Iranian fashion designers. Its designs are shown and marketed via http://limanza.com/.
The website gives young designers an opportunity to create “an online identity” for their brands, the founder, Soheil Khanmohammadi, told Financial Tribune in an exclusive interview.
How It Works
Limanza started work with the support of a business accelerator as part of the Round 3 group of startups. The most important factor in working with Avatech, according to Khanmohammadi, was the space provided by them.
“For six months, 10 teams had come together and shared their problems; they pursued similar goals. Working together, we gained a lot of valuable experience,” he said.
Anybody who is fashion-conscious and closely follows the industry can work with Limanza .Its prices depend on the type of product, the materials used and the brand.
Most items on Limanza are priced from $30 to $150. The revenue model is commission-based, with a percentage of each order going to Limanza.
“We have never limited our scope to Tehran,” Khanmohammadi said. “We have many designers from across Iran. We have customers from different cities and also deliver cross-country.”
A foreign prototype that Limanza has been inspired by, according to the founder, is http://www.alangoo.com/.
The website presents the works of Iranian designers who have limited exposure to western audiences. It highlights the rich Persian culture through wearable and lifestyle pieces that are culturally inspired.
According to Khanmohammadi, the online designer fashion shop https://www.net-a-porter.com/ is also a very successful example from which he has drawn inspiration.
What sets Limanza apart, however, is that it supports emerging designers instead of offering the works of those who have already built their brands.
Vision and Challenges
Khanmohammadi, 24, worked as a web programmer for the past two years and currently serves as a business developer on the Limanza team.
The team was formed about a year ago and it has been three months since the website was launched.
Limanza started with Khanmohammadi and Sina Hamzezadeh who is a programming expert. It has since expanded and currently employs members handling design, photography, fashion, social media and marketing affairs.
“I grew up in a family whose members had all been active in the area of clothing,” Khanmohammadi said.
“My father is a clothing manufacturer and my mother is a fashion designer. This presented me with an opportunity to observe the problems in the industry up close.”
Having witnessed the difficulties of fashion designers and players, he decided to create a platform that could take a step toward improving Iran’s fashion scene for all.
The startup’s main objective is to help young designers gain a foothold.
Fresh graduates face many problems while entering the market and establishing their brands, as it is a costly enterprise.
“Aspiring designers do not have a good grasp of the market,” he said, “advertising and selling their products also pose challenges, not to mention the photography expenses.”
There is still a long way to go until Iranian users warm up to the idea of shopping for clothes online, which is one of the main challenges Khanmohammadi is dealing with.
The site will soon be shipping products worldwide, accepting payments via international gateways.
“Apps for Android and iOS are also underway,” Khanmohammadi said.
The team’s biggest goal is to create a community of talented Iranian designers who can leave a mark on the national and international fashion industries.
