Sunday Inspo:
Maryam Nassir Zadeh
Consider a very specific tragedy: the red boots of my dreams are also, unfortunately, in the
price range of my dreams. The soft square-toed silhouette is embossed in the most beautiful,
red crocodile inspired leather. I lost my mind when I saw them. I’m serious—I took a Twitter
poll and asked how much was too much to pay for great shoes. Turns out any price that inspires a Twitter poll is probably, definitely too much. Nevertheless my fixation persisted, and I went ahead and looked into the designer behind the boot.
Maryam Nassir Zadeh. Hold on a minute—Maryam? Maybe she’s… ah, yes. An Iranian-
American woman! And she’s living in New York! I’m immediately enamored. As a daughter of
Iranian immigrants who was raised in the States, I often searched for people I could relate to.
I’m immediately drawn to people who share my creative ambitions, with the same background
that often demands a more traditional professional trajectory. Maryam, in this case, is the
example of that.
After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, she started a clothing line that she
worked on for four years before going back to school at Parsons in New York. Eventually she
and her then-fiancé opened a store together to work on curation and styling. After another four
years, Maryam was ready to debut an in-house collection of clothing, shoes, and accessories.
Since then she has continued to independently design, curate and sell minimalist feminine
pieces that incorporate unique textures and colors.
Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s brand represents a celebration of womanhood not inextricably tied to
sexuality. In an industry eager to categorize style as either explicitly generic or othered as
“androgynous”, Maryam’s line sits comfortably in a space in-between. Loose linen and textured
basics speak femininity without the confines of expectation. It’s a uniform of confidence. It’s
Solange Knowles conquering cranes in the sky and it’s me, finding similar red boots on Depop
and wearing my first pair of statement shoes in an otherwise safe collection of old sneakers.
For more of Maryam, follow her on:
SHOP THE DESIGNER
SHOP THE DESIGNER
By Nikki Javadi
Writer and Social Media Coordinator at Sheerfull.
