Newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is often seen in public wearing casual zip-up coats, is facing growing condemnation for no “dressing up for the job”.
Reza Kianian, a well-known artist and director, addressed Pezeshkian’s dress code in one of the most critical remarks.
Kianian said in an on Sunday that” I’d like to ask you to use a light summer suit suit rather than that casual coat.”
Home Iranian news outlets and users on social media have since shared and republished the post frequently.
Referring to former populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kianian remarked that Iranians do not have” good memories” of the casual zip-up jacket ( Kapshan in Persian ) often associated with Ahmadinejad.
The suit, which was a way to aesthetically reflect his anti-Western and anti-Israeli position, remains a lasting image in some Iranians ‘ minds.
” You must visit New York in a few months]to attend the UN General Assembly meeting ]. What you wear is very important”, Kianian told Pezeshkian in his article, offered advice on clothes, socks, and boots, and also recommended” a proper hair”. ” Let Iran be pictured befittingly]by foreign media at the event ]”.
Among the above 5, 000 Instagram users who commented on Kianian’s article, some joke stated that Pezeshkian’s tone was superfluous, arguing that more pressing issues deserved his interest.
Others backed Kianian, saying that the new president may follow foreign dress standards, at least when he or she represents the nation on a global scale.
Some Pezeshkian’s followers on social press have argued that revolving only to his outfit at the UNGA conference is useless. They point out that Egyptian leaders, as well as Indians, Malaysians, and others, generally wear traditional clothes and flip-flops at such situations. They assert that Pezeshkian’s contributions to the world are what really matter.
Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and senator who was little known to many Iranians before the snap elections following the death of ex-President Ebrahim Raisi in a plane crash in May, has rarely mentioned how difficult it is to subscribe to the strict procedures that the president must follow. He has also stated that he wants to live the life of an “ordinary Egyptian” and live a truer version of himself.
During the commencement of President Hassan Rouhani, especially in how he welcomed international representatives, Pezeshkian, who was the Deputy Speaker of Parliament until August 2016, criticized his disrespect for political dress codes and standards.
” Not observing official protocols, sneaking into Parliament unannounced ]on Saturday], shopping at your local grocery store, and wearing a jacket in the middle of the summer is not a sign of being a man of the people and a revolutionary. It is a mark that you are another type of Ahmadinejad”,.
Ahmadinejad, whose supporters took his badly worn zip-up jackets and windbreakers as a sign that he was” a man of the people”, after a few years.
The former President has undergone a number of superficial changes in recent years in addition to his alleged swings in view. Ahmadinejad apparently has begun to thin out the deep lines around his mouth and eyes, creating a fresh impression that Iranians who are fashion-conscious in the middle class will enjoy.
Wearing relationships became a symbol of American social adherence after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which young rebels like Pezeshkian vehemently condemned as “un-Islamic.” Thus, an unofficial restrictions was imposed on marketing and wearing relations.
Consequently, wearing a tie became a covert assertion of opposition to the clerical government among professional Iran, including physicians, lawyers, and powerful businessmen.
The wearing of collared shirts was also against by the female insurgents. The Iranian Foreign Ministry created collarless tees for its diplomats in reply, which resemble the clothing that clerics put under their robes.
Some officials, such as former Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, design these necessary collarless tops with cheap earrings.
Fashion consciousness appears to be critical among clerics, too.
The original “reformist” President Mohammad Khatami, often dubbed” the person in the chocolate-brown dress” by Iranian press for one of his robes, was usually praised for his “impeccable design”. Hassan Rouhani, a “moderate” former president, was reputed to have wore expensive Italian robes.