Contributed by Cherie

Normally for recommended interviews we post a question and answer piece but when I was sent this story (thanks to Ashleigh) told by Tala Raasi who received forty lashes at 16 for wearing a mini skirt to a friend’s party in the privacy of the friend’s home, I decided to post it. Tala recalls being handcuffed to her friend in a a rat infested jail in Tehran with no food or water and in fear of rape before she received her bloody sentence. Because since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, it is illegal to wear revealing outfits, women have the option of wearing either loose-fitting coats or cloaks such as the chador in public, or  the manteau, which is a shoulder-padded, dark colored, shapeless trench coat worn over long pants; they must also have a headscarf covering their hair. Wearing any other clothing will result into such severe punishment from the religious police.

Tala who is now a fashion designer living in the USA and has decided to fight back through her own designs which can be seen on her website darbedar.net. Dar Be Dar is Persian slang for “all over the place” which according to Raasi’s site represents “fashion for the woman who is unafraid of her body.”

Click Here to Read the Interview

Usually on Tuesdays The Daily Femme posts a “Recommended Interview,” but we’ve decided to switch things up a bit and today’s post comes “recommended” though not for its inspirational or empowering message to women, but rather to highlight an issue.

First, I’d like to preface the interview by reiterating what I have said before on the site and will say again: magazines that pretend that displaying flawless, super tall, mostly white, “plus size” models encourages true body acceptance in media and fashion ain’t fooling anyone.

With that in mind, I give you the latest  interview with Elle’s editor-in-chief, Robbie Myers, who makes it abundantly clear that a sprinkling of ‘plus size’ in her magazine is more variety than she can handle.  Interviewed by Ann Curry of The Today Show, she was asked, towards the end of the interview, “Why is it either thin or not thin, why can’t we have variety?” In response, Myers made an attempt at arguing that NOW there are tons of variety on the runway saying “I am going to debate you on that because the market force as we know is plus size women and that market is growing, it’s enormous, a multi-billion dollar industry every year…but we do want a little idealization in our models and movie stars to project that maybe that is a better version of ourselves.” She had already asserted earlier in the interview that “average women are not actually inspired to look at women who look like them.”

There it is again. What does the tall blond photo shopped plus size woman say to a pear shaped, dark skinned 5 foot tall woman? Why can’t we go beyond the hype of the uber skinny or the plus size and offer realistic images of women that are beautiful but haven’t been photo shopped to death? Clearly the magazines themselves don’t have any real answers and try to pass off the super skinny unhealthy models that dominate fashion as ‘a little idealization.’ After all Myers also calls Elle Macpherson “not a skinny girl at all” (have you seen Elle Macpherson lately?!)  and the interview goes on to refer to Scarlett Johansson as an example of a “voluptuous” woman.

Is it still considered voluptuous when magazines photo shop the hell out of their celebs in order to make them fit their ideal? Here are two covers of Johansson in the past year including this month’s InStyle cover and last year’s French Elle. Do either of these images says “voluptous” to you? I guess this is the  “little idealization” that Myers refers to. I rest my case.

Jezebel: Elle Editor: “Average Women Are Not Inspired By Women Who Look Like Them”

A clothier, designer, writer, visual artist, puppet-maker and actress with a recent stint in the new Noah Baumbach film, “Greenberg,” Desira is a modern day Renaissance woman. Growing up with bikers as parents where the occasional vacation involved moose watching, Desira talks about how her unconventional background affects her artwork giving it originality. Despite the pressure to compromise in order to build a successful business, you won’t find her designs at your nearest Forever-21.

Age? 27

Places you have lived in? Scranton (PA), Syracuse (NY), Florence (Italy), Brooklyn (NY)

Places you would like to live in? Barcelona, Spain, somewhere in Scandinavia, Paris, France, London, and Bologna, Italy

What do you do? Fashion designer/seamstress & actress

I read on your blog that you had two bikers for parents. Growing up, how did your life differ growing up from other kids’ lives?

Well, I was an oddball only because of the schools I went to, which were Catholic and Jesuit prep schools where most children had parents that were doctors, lawyers, or business owners, who relished in expensive possessions.  We had a truck, backhoe, dump truck and tractor; and went moose watching in the woods of New Hampshire for vacation and car shows for entertainment. There were very few students in my school who could draw or play an instrument.  I always felt weird and misunderstood and in turn they also made me feel different. There was no cultural diversity, which really bothered me and there was also a heavy feeling of elitism.  If you weren’t from a successful family, you were shit. My parents have been wonderful in terms of allowing my sister and I to develop our own sense of self and this in turn has allowed us to pursue anything we wanted.  I really couldn’t stand Pennsylvania and was able to become someone else when I left.

Growing up working on a farm, do you feel you miss that in New York? Do you feel you have to leave the city to get some nature?

Yes and no.  I do miss having unadulterated space to explore and not have to leave at dusk, yet there’s plenty here to satiate me.  Prospect Park is incredible and mimics being in unguarded nature.  I do crave running around blanketed by human silence; and I also love going on long drives, which I cannot do here, yet at this point in my life, I am where I want to be.  What I miss more than fresh air is kindness.  New Yorkers are so quick to be defensive and insulting and the insistence on “me me me” is sometimes too much.  There is no patience, no brotherly love. When I am almost hit by a speeding belligerent driver while riding my bike, it’s more common to hear, “FUCK YOU!!” rather then “Are you alright? Sorry!”  That shit gets really grating.

Do you think the fashion industry keeps coming up with original ideas or is there a lot of fluff out there? How does a designer stand out?

Just as in the fine art work, there’s a lot of regurgitation and reiteration and still there’s a tremendous amount of ingenuity and novelty.  The change of materials available and technology aids a new look as humanity grows and bends.  I think that there is often a recurrence of styles and shapes, yet in a postmodern way.  Then again, there is also blatant copying and I think independent designers are often the victims of that.  Designers stand out in a number of different ways –quality, ostentation, novelty, politics, ethics, technology, high art…. It really depends on who is watching.

How did you learn how to design clothes? Was it valuable or important for you to train or apprentice with another designer?

Self-taught hard work, a tad of experience freelancing for Burdastyle.com, and a puppet maker for Broadway and the Macy’s parades, and lots and lots and lots of practice.  I seriously sew and design 75 hours a week.

I have noticed that you are often the model of your clothes on your website, is it by choice or would you rather work with models?

I like both.  I started modeling for myself because when I started sewing, I made things to fit me. I therefore would look best in them.  As time went on, I think I continued this out of convenience, rather than trying to summon someone to come model for a few hours.  Even still, I love having models.  It allows me a lot more control over the look and feel of the shot, as opposed to being both in front and behind the camera (I often do my own photography with a tripod).

Are your designs meant for people of different shapes and sizes? Do you think every designer should include such designs in their collection?

For the most part, yes.  I have made every size of clothing over the years.  I think some designs work better for certain body types naturally, as some people look better in some things than other.  That goes for both tiny and voluptuous bodies.  I hope that my clothing attracts a large audience and is enjoyed and worn proudly for its distinctiveness.

The idea of skinny in fashion has been going on for a long time but recently people seem to think it has become out of control to the point of excessive photo shopping or firing models for gaining 5 pounds. It’s really disgusting how thin women have gotten in the fashion and entertainment industries.  I have worked behind the scenes for a few real fashion shows and have had to dress models and it literally made me ill.  They are walking corpses.  I am pretty thin and I looked overweight compared to these people. That in turn, really alienates most of the population. Women are mind-fucked by the obsession of being svelte, tall, and white from the day they reach self-consciousness until they die. Would I compromise my ideals for success? (more…)

Working five different jobs all day and then karaoke singing all night is not atypical for Anne. This artist/stylist /cofounder of the website Dadsinshortshorts.com explains why she loves styling Middle America girls with “Sexy Princess” sequin tops and how she became less of a minion and more of an opinion.

Age? 26

Where have you lived? Cleveland (Ohio), New York (New York), Florence (Italy)

Where do you want to live? San Fran when I turn forty and don’t want to do anything except wear white linen pants, teach pottery classes, have plants hanging from macramé planters and only listen to Joni Mitchell. That’s my life plan! But in my wild days (which are still going on), I love New York but would love to do another stint or artist residency in Gay Paris or Berlin.

Where do you work? For passion, I draw and paint. To get money, I work as a stylist for a model agency and a freelance assistant to the designer/merchandiser to Donna Karen/DKNY/Hanes Hosiery. I used to work full time there but I was laid off and then started to freelance. I also babysit a young girl and am the co creator of Dadsinshortshorts.com, which is the blog of a lifetime and will probably be my claim to fame [laughs]!

What do you rank first among the following: family, social life, career/education, surroundings?

First is social life, I am a very social person and my friends are very important to me.

What type of models do you work with on your shoots?

I basically style test shoots for models’ portfolios. People come from all over such as Wisconsin or Middle America where the only place that they have to shop is Walmart so, they have crazy sequin tops that say “sexy princess” when they are only four years old. My job is to tell them no, no, no, put that feather boa away and then I pick out items that are more commercial.

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