Tara Zadeh on How to Create a Cult Label in 1 Year

The Iranian designer behind the now-viral Azar clutch

In less than a year, US-born Iranian designer Tara Zadeh’s sculptural bags have become nothing short of a cult brand.  

 

“Everything happened so fast”, she exclaims. Zadeh audaciously quit her “dream job” in 2016 as Art Director of the Gentleman’s Journal in London and in just a few months, she saw her eponymous brand launch on Moda Operandi, the online luxury retailer, through the help of her friend who works there, which she says“ really was the starting point for the brand”.

 

Very quickly, the now-iconic Azar clutch bag has been seen adorned on almost every single IG it girl (Soraya Bakhtiar and model Camille Charrière, to name but a few).

 

 

The designer cites both her cultural and educational backgrounds—she studied graphic design at Parson’s in New York—as influences. She refers to a trip to Iran with her mother and husband, as the defining moment in her inspirational process. Yet, the young designer doesn’t believe she has fixed so-called inspirations. “I’m a creative person, so I’m just inspired every single day by anything that triggers my curiosity and sensitivity”, she says.

 

Yet, despite having multiple and various source of inspirations, Zadeh only has one obsession: bags.

 

 

Having always collected small bags found in markets or souks, it felt natural to finally create them for herself.

 

The round bag was initially designed as a party bag. “I believe I was the first person to design the bracelet bag. I love dancing, and you will always find me with a glass in one hand and my phone in the other. This bag is the perfect compromise”, she says.

 

Although she’s only launched one collection, Zadeh is excited and confident about what’s next. By the end of the year, her bags will be available at 20 international retailers and she is currently working on a confidential collaboration with a Lebanese fashion designer.

 

tarazadeh.com

Share this article

Related stories