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The lighting backstage seemed more in tune with what these clothes would experience for real once adorning their wearers—and appeared all the more sumptuous for it

   Another designer that didn't get much coverage (likewise the breasts on her last model) was Morteza Pashaï.
   From our recollection, this was about Pashaï’s fourth couture collection and while brown as the staple colour, he ventured into reds and gold piping, proud of his Middle Eastern heritage.
   The Iranian designer has often triumphed because of his collections' simplicity, and this autumn–winter was no exception. Like the Lebanese transplants in Paris, Pashaï was happy to cross cultures, but largely did so without overornamentation and, therefore, looked well in place for the sombre and uncertain season of his customers.
   There was more pizazz backstage as Lucire saw the clothing in a more social setting, with models preparing, chatting, drinking wine and looking into mirrors. The lighting there seemed more in tune with what these clothes would experience for real once adorning their wearers—and appeared all the more sumptuous for it.
   We didn’t get much of an otherwise “real-world” sighting of any of Paris collections, so knowing that certain garments would likely work in ‘real life” made writing columns about them easier. Morteza Pashaï's work certainly fits into the category of wearable and fashionable.
   As to coverage, Pashaï can expect more—the first Iranian fashion magazine, Lotous, since 1979 was launched in 2003 and he can expect to be one of his native country’s most high-profile ambassadors. •

Lucire: ‘Dans la coulisse’ (Morteza Pashaï collection, January 2003)