Shirin Guild

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Shirin Guild (born 1946) is a contemporary British Iranian fashion designer. Her label was established in London, in 1991. Shirin Guild was born in 1946 and grew up in Iran. Prior to the 1979 revolution she moved to Los Angeles and then to London where she lives today.^[1]

Shirin Guild in Beverly Hills 1983. Photo courtesy Firooz Zahedi

Guild's career in fashion started when she began to design clothes for herself because she could not find items she liked in the shops. When her designs were demanded by other women she decided to launch her own label. Apart from two years of tuition from the London Saint Martin's School of Art,^[2] in her youth, Shirin Guild is a self-taught fashion designer. The Shirin Guild label was launched in 1991 by Shirin and her husband, the interior decorator Robin Guild. It is an independent company which produces three collections of womenswear a year.

Shirin Guild is renowned for utilising unconventional materials and manufacturing technologies, which she combines with traditional fabrics and craftsmanship. Guild's innovative, minimalistic garments are made of uniquely devised fabrics, based on yarns made from cashmere, silk, linen, wool, cotton, stainless steel, copper, hemp, bamboo, pineapple and even paper, or combinations thereof. Guild's designs were originally inspired by Iranian peasant clothes and other traditional garments from around the world.^[3] Initially known for oversize, square-shaped patterns, designed to take form on the feminine body,^[4] in recent years, the designer's style has evolved to embrace a leaner silhouette. This has attracted younger buyers to the brand, which, in general, had previously been favored by the middle aged woman. Complementing her creations, Shirin Guild has formed associations with leading craftspeople to make unique accessories such as handwoven shawls in artistic designs; dip-dyed, hand-felted neckpieces and mittens, and washed leather bags.

Guild also designs tightly structured clothes for men in unusual see through materials and colours.

Shirin Guild clothes are at the top-end of the designer ready-to-wear market. Most garments are manufactured entirely in Britain. The label has found acclaim worldwide. The style is portrayed in the same context as that of, e.g., Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto.

Shirin Guild's work is widely mentioned in the media, as well as in academic publications and creations of the label have been selected by leading international museums and educational institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London^[5] and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City for their permanent collections.

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