MASTERPIECES by Sepehr Maghsoudi

His vibrant personality, enthusiasm for craftsmanship and drive to experiment all come through in his work.

His lively personality, enthusiasm for craftsmanship and urge to experiment, it is all reflected in the collections of the now knighted fashion designer Sepehr Maghsoudi. Sepehr has received a lot of international recognition in recent years and managed to bring Persian glamor to the Paris catwalk during Couture Week. This week the fashion designer highlights three of his MASTERPIECES.Text: Fleur de Jong
Image: RvH photo

The scale dress

“For years I have wanted to work with my father Bahram – who produced men's clothing in Persia – to design a collection. This year that wish came true. Together we presented my 24th Couture Collection - when it was allowed again after a year and a half of corona: Father & Son … for women! The scale dress weighing no less than 30 kilos is our icing on the cake. This mega dress, which our team worked on for at least six months, is made up of scales, each of which consists of 4 to 6 layers of fabric. Hidden between those layers is my handwritten message in different languages: “Father and Son”. The scales are outlined by thousands of Japanese beads. For me, the dress symbolizes the protection that parents give to their children. It represents my father, the artist who pushed the boundaries of his dreams to offer our family a future in freedom. So that I could design this, if I say so myself, an Oscar and museum piece-worthy dress.”Photo: RvHfoto

Water drops

“My goal was to have my 15th collection”Scream under Water” bringing a touch of Persian glamor to the Parisian catwalk during Paris Couture Week in January 2017. My first time in Paris! What a wonderful experience it was; models who flew in from Milan and even from Russia and Japan. Many people helped me from home and abroad. The collection is inspired by a childhood memory. I love water. In Persia I often trained in the swimming pool. Adjacent to this pool was a museum with plants from all over the world. There was also a laboratory here. Building on this memory, I wondered, "What if people found a way to turn nuclear waste into something miraculous?" In the final dress, my team and I brought these ideas together into a dress constructed entirely of plastic in combination with traditional handicrafts (thousands of beads and hand embroidery). The beads give the drop-shaped, matte plastic, the water feeling I was longing for.”Photo: Petra Holland

Melted Construction

“Besides fashion and architecture, films are my life. High on my bucket list is designing costumes for a major Hollywood production. In my futuristic collection Melted Construction I give a taste of costume design. I had fun with geometric shapes and draped steel looks. My background in architecture came into its own when creating it. Like all my collections, this one is also inspired by a memory from my youth. Together with my parents, brother and sister we were staying at the Caspian Sea when a huge storm arose. I imagined that a castle was in danger of being swallowed up by the sea. This idea fascinated me and I incorporated it into the designs. Shortly after the show, I received an email from the stylist Tyra Banks, after which the item falling angel – which can also be seen in the beautiful photo by photographer Ivo Koops – was published. I remember carefully packing everything into large boxes and driving to the post office to ship it to New York.”Photo: Ivo de KokView here all designs from Sepehr.