Concept Collection — Project 03 of 6
Shahr-e-Farang
A styling story built around Shahr-e-Farang, the travelling picture-box theatre of old Persian streets — nostalgia, spectacle and layered storytelling in fabric form.
Role
Creative Direction & Styling
Timeline
4 weeks
Client
Personal Concept
Materials & Techniques
Layered silk organza, hand-embroidery, mixed textiles
Overview
A peep-show, restaged in cloth
Shahr-e-Farang takes its name from the wooden picture-box theatres once carried through Persian streets, where a single lens revealed a small world inside. This project reimagines that sense of curated spectacle through styling — outfits built like scenes, each one revealing something new on closer look.
The Challenge
Building narrative without literal costume
It would have been easy to lean into pastiche — theatrical, obviously 'themed' clothing. The challenge was keeping every look wearable and current while still carrying the storytelling weight of the concept.
The Approach
Layers as scenes
Each outfit was built in visible layers — an under-piece, a sheer over-piece, a small embroidered detail — so that, like the picture-box itself, there was always something extra to notice once you looked closer.
I worked closely with a local embroiderer on small hand-stitched details hidden inside linings and cuffs, rewarding attention rather than announcing the theme outright.
Gallery
Selected frames from the shahr-e-farang shoot.
4Looks styled
8Hand-embroidered details
4Weeks in development
Results
A concept that sharpened my process
Shahr-e-Farang pushed my styling toward narrative thinking — treating an outfit less like a single choice and more like a set of decisions that unfold over time, a habit that now shows up across my commercial work too.