About Naghmeh Kiumarsi

Naghmeh Kiumarsi is a Tehran-based womenswear fashion designer. A third-generation designer with more than two decades of professional experience, she is widely recognized for a hybrid design language that bridges Iran’s traditional arts with contemporary aesthetics and presents them in wearable, everyday garments. In official and media-facing narratives around her brand, Kiumarsi is often described as one of the influential figures in Iranian womenswear design, with an artistic identity closely intertwined with Iran’s cultural heritage.

From Childhood to a Professional Vision
Naghmeh Kiumarsi’s path started in childhood, through art. Drawing and design for her were not just pastimes; they were the way of thinking and creating ideas. Having started designing at five years old, by twelve she had learned embroidery and detailed handwork. This early contact with the values of the “hand,” “patience,” and “precision” later became a guideline in her concept of clothing: to be beautiful and well-made, worthy of touching and built to last.

Launching Her Business in 2003 and Shaping the Brand’s Foundations
In 2003, Kiumarsi started her design company and launched her first collection, comprising scarves and manteaus. Even then, her central idea was crystal clear: clothes could be more than fashion; it could be one medium for narrating the history, poetry, art, and identity of a land. As time passed, this became a constant in her work.

Design Language: Iranian Heritage in Contemporary Forms
Naghmeh Kiumarsi’s design language is based on synthesis: authentic Iranian elements, such as Persian calligraphy, arabesque motifs, historical and literary references, together with contemporary forms and textures. Persian poetry sometimes emerges directly in many of her works: sometimes as calligraphy or an illustration, but sometimes as a felt “rhythm” and sensibility within the composition. Color, in this world, is not merely decor; it is a way of communicating concept and emotion.
What is more, this trend is nothing but one big continuous effort to redefine Iranian womenswear, rooted and culturally resonant, yet open to dialogue and fully livable within the contemporary world.

An International Career: From Karlsruhe via Events in Europe to the United States
Her international career took a new turn in 2009 when she staged her first fashion show in Karlsruhe, Germany. Later, she took part in the Blue Orange Love fashion show in Munich in 2013, while in 2015 her work was showcased in the exhibition called Fade in Time in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the same year, she took part in the Women Entrepreneurs Conference in the United States, an appearance that deepened her engagement with professional and entrepreneurial networks.

Regional Markets and International Collaborations
As her professional path was expanding, the presentation of Kiumarsi’s work beyond Iran gradually came to the fore. For her, this stage was not only commercial visibility but also an opportunity to test how culturally rooted Iranian elements could be expressed in contemporary form and delivered to diverse regional and global audiences.
In this context, parts of her collections and designs were introduced and offered within the United Arab Emirates, including venues such as Galeries Lafayette (Dubai Mall) and Harvey Nichols. These experiences helped to further consolidate her positioning within international contexts and created space for designs with grounds in hand-crafted detail, cultural motifs, and a narrative-driven approach.
In addition to these partnerships, few regional boutiques have also formed part of her brand’s international development, including USH Boutique in Dubai, which showcased her signature abaya collection titled Black Swan. It is these presences—along with international shows and events—that have contributed to creating a global audience network and the evolution of her design language.

The Signature “Black Swan” Collection: A Contemporary Narrative of Femininity Through the Abaya
One of Kiumarsi’s signature projects is her abaya collection titled Black Swan: a series inspired by Dubai and Emirati culture, where each piece carries its name and distinct identity, telling feminine stories about delicacy and strength in a contemporary form. Staged in Dubai, the collection has often been considered an exemplary case of how she can perform “cultural translation” through the language of clothes.

Museum Experience and Archival Registration
For many designers, entering a museum context marks a turning point: it removes a work from the short-lived cycle of seasons and places it within the realm of the archive. According to the official collection pages of National Museums Scotland, at least two entries related to Naghmeh Kiumarsi’s works are registered in the museum database. This aspect of her portfolio suggests that her designs have not remained solely within the sphere of runway and market but have also gained archival and historical referential value as examples of contemporary design inspired by Iranian art.

Cannes 2025: “The Brilliance of Iranian Ethnic Attire” at Cannes Fashion Week
In 2025, and as part of Cannes Fashion Week, Naghmeh Kiumarsi showcased a collection under the name The Brilliance of Iranian Ethnic Attire—a project set around “identity” and “cultural diversity” and inspired by traditional clothes from twelve Iranian ethnic groups.
In the collection, clothes are defined as a cultural medium: a composition of handwoven textiles, indigenous embroidery, and Iranian artistic motifs placed alongside contemporary silhouettes, permitting ethnic attire to move the narrative past ornamentation toward being perceived as a “living culture.”
The project addressed a spectrum of Iranian cultural roots and geographies, including the reference to the dress traditions of Qashqai, Kurdish, Turkmen, Bandari, Mazani, and Gilaki communities. This was to pay homage to the history and aesthetics of ethnic dress while providing an opportunity to showcase the role women and their handcrafts have played in shaping that heritage—a heritage that still has the capacity for presence and dialogue in today’s world.

Social Responsibility: Design as Action
For Naghmeh Kiumarsi, design is not confined to aesthetics and execution; impact and social responsibility have a place in her professional path. Parallel to designing and showcasing collections, she has collaborated on humanitarian and supportive projects.
These include engagement and support in projects associated with the WFP. In 2016, she designed and donated T-shirts in support of Mahak Charity, contributing to initiatives for children with cancer. Continuing this approach, she also took on the design and sponsorship of Iranian women’s national hockey team uniforms in 2016 and 2017.
Her social record also includes collaborations with organizations related to child rights, support for selected sports and arts events, including mountain running races in Qeshm and Cappadocia.

Registering the Trademark in Germany and Continuing into Europe
In 2017, Naghmeh Kiumarsi’s independent brand was registered for the first time in Germany, an important milestone in her international development. From then on, collaborations with European designers and more regular appearances related to fashion and cultural events throughout Europe became a stable part of her professional path, furnishing a more formal framework for the expansion of the brand’s international activities and connections.

Looking Ahead: Sustainable Fashion, Quality, and Resistance to Consumerism
The pillar sustaining Kiumarsi’s approach to design is sustainable fashion—a perspective based on build quality, longevity, and responsible production in opposition to fast, consumption-driven cycles. As such, clothing is not simply a consumer product for quick consumption but rather a wearable work that carries culture, identity, and meaning, able to endure over time if designed and made correctly.

Presence and Connectivity Online to a Global Audience
Naghmeh Kiumarsi is active on social media. Her Instagram page, where she has more than 106,000 followers, represents one of the main channels for sharing her works, projects, and professional journey.