Mutton's guide: A fashion portrait: Afsoon

A is for Artist.
I have known Afsoon for years and when I first met her, she was unmistakably an artist in her approach to life if not yet fully in her practice. Her home and her appearance have always been an outlet for her visual sense, her eye for shapes, colours and proportions and ability to mix the quirky and the classic.

Her clothes have always conveyed her artistic gift - unique, colourful, expressive of her personality and sense of fun. She wears clothes that you can't place - she lends her innate sense of chic to a flea market discovery from Montpellier, a dress from her mother's coffers or a timeless find from a fashionable boutique. When I met her, she was just beginning to hone her artistic skills, linocut in particular, in between looking after home and family. With growing children, she is now able to fully be the artist that she wants to be. As many women artists, the way she works retains a domestic feel. Her work table has an element of the kitchen table, its warmth and gentle familiarity. But that should not fool you into thinking that her work is soft or lightweight - she is collected by the British Museum and recently illustrated an article on the current Iranian unrest in the New York Times.

Drawing her inspiration from her Iranian heritage, she is constantly trying to recreate her past, a past that blends imagination and reality, folklore and history. Poetry, that great Persian gift, imbues her work. The titles of her series: Nostalgia, Persian Speaking Objects, Talisman and her latest, Fairytale Icons convey that sense that the past is never far away but can't ever be grasped. I find that her work goes beyond the exotic and speaks to me, a non-Persian, of the passing of time, the evocative power of everyday objects and the unexpected twists of life. I am the happy owner of a Roberts radio lino cut featured below, from the Nostalgia series acquired several year ago:

Shah's second wife from the Persian Fairytale series:

F is for fashion:
On a wintry late morning, I met Afsoon with photographer Arno ( click on Arno's website), at her studio, a beautifully proportioned square room with a vast window overlooking peaceful back-gardens and letting in plenty of natural light. In the warmth of the fireplace, surrounded by a curiosity shop of objects, sipping cups of winter tea and munching on Rococo chocolates, we talked with Afsoon of her art, her clothes and what inspires her whilst Arno snapped her in different guises.

First childhood memory of clothes?
A pink corduroy dress with lace collar and a silk rose attached to each cuff and to the collar, when I was about 5 years old.
First piece of clothing that you bought with your own money?
A pair of very pointy and curly-toed Kenneth Cole shoes, flat, in dark blue suede, which almost had a 1001 Nights feel about it.
Significant fashion moment in your life?
My first Nike sneakers! With the red swish on white leather, still the best.
Fashion disasters?
Attaching colour extensions to my black bob.
Fashion triumphs?
Keeping my look no matter what the magazines say.
How would you define your style?
Relaxed with a touch of excentricity. Also, a combination of a great designer piece and a second hand (sorry vintage!) addition, finished off with a pair of Converse or an old pair of Marni sandals.
Afsoon made a necklace from bone key labels she found in Hungary where she was preparing her upcoming residency and exhibition. She still doesn't know what the labels mean which enhances the mystery.

What counts and what does not count with clothes/accessories?
Good quality fabric, a nice cashmere scarf or a well cut silk dress are much better than 10 polyester things. Also, certain colours that I have always loved, such as purple or orange. I don't care if it is by a famous designer; if I don't like it, that's it! Also, I cannot stand the sex-object kind of look that brands like Jimmy Choo push women into.
The green and gold plastic Buddha that she wears had a fashion victim swoon over "the gold, the jade" - proving that it is how you wear it more than what you wear that gets the look!

Whilst she enjoys mixing African beads, purporting to ward off the evil eye and plastic Buddhas, she also wears exquisite rings from Iranian artist and curator, Fereaydoun Ave who also does jewelry on the side.

Is your style/choice of clothes changing as you are getting older?
Not really. I still have dresses, jeans and jackets which I have worn for the past 15 years or so.
Comfort clothes?
Sweat pants and T-shirts, and old French linen night dresses in the summer.
Morale boosting clothes?
A couple of dresses which I have had for years and I know I look good in them.
The first dress is from See by Chloe and the second is the copy Afsoon had made by a tailor, using fabric bought at Marche St Pierre, the great Paris fabric discount store near Montmartre.

I would never wear...?
Very high heels, overly sexy things, ridiculous underwear.
I can't leave the house without...?
A hat and a cotton handkerchief.
Piece of clothing you can't bear to throw away although you should?
It used to be a white duffle coat with red lining which I have had since I was 13 years old, but unfortunately, I lost it to a fire a couple of years ago. And a gold pair of leather sandals from the 60's.
The sandals from Dolcis, in that peculiar shade of gold that Arno described as "granny gold":

Piece of clothing your children/husband would like you to get rid of?
My son doesn't like a green pair of sunglasses which I bought in a market in France.
Fashion advice?
Wear what YOU feel good in, not what others tell you to wear.
Favourite boutique/shop/brand/designer?
Liberty of London, See by Chloe and Converse.

Afsoon's satchel bag from Ally Capellino, vast enough to hold her work tools:

T is for Tips from Afsoon.

Stick to your own taste and style.
Know what works for you and adapt the current fashion to your body and style, not the other way around.
Keep a sense of your history and heritage.
Don't confuse feminine and slutty.
Determine your colours and use them with abandon.
Enjoy patterns.
Go for good fabrics.
Mix and match cheap and expensive, old and new.
Put humour in your clothes.