This year, fashion designer and business owner Maryam Nassir Zadeh did not display her Fall 2020 fashion line in New York’s fashion week – a surprising departure to many. But Zadeh felt that the decision was the right one, not only because it allowed her to attend a friend’s wedding in Africa, but because it changed her approach to the line.
Instead of the frequently over-the-top trends of runway fashion, Zadeh pictured her designs on real women, in real shop fronts, and real streets. The result – a ready-to-wear collection for any fashion-savvy woman.
Maryam Nassir Zadeh Travels the Globe for Inspiration
Zadeh’s style relies heavily on the use of bright colors, vintage designs, and flowing silhouettes.
MILAGRA DRESS inspired by Victorian-era lace-up dresses
Even as a child, Zadeh incorporated as many different cultures and styles as she could into her designs.
“In middle school, we would save up money and go to Venice [Beach] on the weekends and buy tons of crafty treats, like Guatemalan handwork, Rasta gear, and vintage clothing,” recalls Zadeh about her outings with her friends. As an adult, she continues to travel extensively. She brings back influences from around the globe, which appear in her clothes and jewelry.
For example, Zadeh based glass earrings on the Posidonia plant. This flower grows only in the Mediterranean, particularly “on the seabeds of Ibiza and Formentera – two placed I have a lot of connection to, I’ve been going there since I was a kid,” explains Zadeh.
Posidonia Earrings styled with other Zadeh pieces
MNZ’s flowing, vintage style
A Family Fashion Affair
Zadeh’s love of fashion started early. She recalls modeling with her friends as a child, and sewing her own clothes in jewelry – especially during her “hippie phase”.
Zadeh learned a lot about the fashion trade from family. Her grandmother had a boutique in Tehran and made custom clothing for her clients throughout Zadeh’s life.
“During my hippie phase, I spent a summer with her in London and she taught me how to make clothing,” Zadeh recalls. “I will never forget the thrill of scouring fabric stores for material and spending the day into the middle of the night obsessed with sewing on a mission to finish the clothing.”
Zadeh started her clothing line right out of the Rhode Island School of Design. Her embellished, one-of-a-kind t-shirts made it to Barneys, her first account, and then Maxfield and Ikram.
“I was so young and clueless, but I had a vision,” Zadeh says. After this initial thrust of success, Zadeh took a step back to learn the technical skills of the trade. Soon, her authentic but daring style made her a name to watch in the fashion scene.
Maryam Nassir Zadeh: An Unconventional Fashion Icon
Zadeh is no stranger to unconventional fashion displays. Vogue described her Spring 2018 show as a “guerrilla show,” conducted on the East River track in New York City. She also staged her Spring ’20 show outside, in the Sara D. Roosevelt Park.
Vogue’s Emily Farra writes, “the distinctly unrefined setting of cracked asphalt is part of the MNZ story, a reminder that she’s still one of downtown New York’s O.G. talents; seeing this collection at Spring Studios simply wouldn’t compute.” The same goes for her Autumn/Winter ’19 show, in an East Village space draped in Persian carpets and covered in greenery.
For her Fall ’20 collection, Zadeh skipped New York all together. Instead, she spent New York Fashion Week in Africa attending a friend’s wedding. “For certain people in your life, there are the moments you can’t miss,” Zadeh told Vogue.
As a result, she thought differently about the latest collection. Rather than thinking in terms of NY Fashion Week, Zadeh saw her clothes in the real world – on real women, in real shops. The result: a wearable collection that skips the extravagance typical to fashion shows.
MNZ Fall 2020
MNZ Fall 2020
Peruse Zadeh’s full Fall 2020 collection here.
