Born in Maryland, the 27-year-old Raassi grew up in Iran, but moved back to the US in 2000 after what should have been a Sweet Sixteen visit ended traumatically. The party thrown at a friend’s house for Raassi’s 16th birthday was raided by the morals police and the 30 teenaged boys and girls present received 50 and 40 lashes respectively. There were no drugs and no alcohol, just “indecent” clothes like miniskirts, Western music and members of the opposite sex.
Tala says the last 10 minutes of her five-day jail experience changed her life forever. “The physical scars [of the lashes] healed, but the emotional scars would not go away so easily,” she said.
A few months shy of graduating from high school, her school officials allowed her to finish her studies, but only after verbally reprimanding her once more for her behavior. Thus, as soon as she received her diploma, she quickly left for Dubai to stay with friends. Several months later, she moved in with family in Washington, DC, where the idea of doing something to celebrate women became a tangible concept for her.
“At my new home in DC, surrounded by American women who were free to wear what they want and think what they want, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: I would become a fashion designer. Because to me, fashion equaled freedom.”
Tala had planned as a child to become a lawyer because, as she puts it, “All Iranian parents say you have to either be a doctor, engineer or lawyer. I always thought I wanted to be a lawyer, because I talk a lot and somehow I always find my way.”
Although the idea of becoming a fashion designer was new to her, Tala had been practicing for years, sewing outfits for her Barbie dolls from leather and mink, materials that she had “borrowed” from her parents’ belongings, much to their dismay. She learned sewing by emulating her mother, an interior decorator.
“Fashion had been a hobby for me while I was growing up, but in light of my lashing, I wanted it to become more. I felt that women should feel proud of their bodies, not ashamed of them,” Raassi said.
So, Raassi took on a new career objective. Starting with practically nothing—no English skills, no business training or knowledge of the fashion industry—Raassi took language classes and bought books on running a business. She successfully earned a business management degree and supplemented her knowledge by personal field trips to fabric distributors, clothing factories and showrooms. Although she went bankrupt twice, she persevered and, with family support and a job at a local boutique, started her first line of tops.
Wearing one of those tops at a party five years later drew her first investor. A compliment induced her to say she made it herself. “He [then] asked if I was a designer and I said that I was trying to become one. His response: Why are you just trying?” Raassi remembers. “He became my first investor and helped me get my business off the ground.”
DarBeDar, meaning “door-to-door” in Persian, was the name of Raassi’s first line and eventually her company name. Although the company is small—there are two interns and one assistant—Raassi is proud of all of her handmade pieces. “I am my own army. I do all of my own marketing, all designs, all patterns. I go to Colombia to pick my own fabric. I do it all on my own,” she says.
With a focus now on swimsuits instead of tops, Raassi’s work caught the eye of the 2010 Miss Universe pageant coordinators. “My line is about freedom. I believe fashion showcases a woman’s freedom. Miss Universe thought that was a good slogan for them, so they asked me to sponsor it,” she comments.
Although excited, Raassi still faced quite a challenge. “It was very expensive. We had to find investors to cover the costs. I had to make 400 bikinis in only two months,” she explains, adding, “but it was a great experience for me.” Her line, which millions saw on television last August, had “solid sumptuous colors,” with embellishments on some, such as studs and leather pieces.
Now, her bikinis, tops, and leggings can be seen and bought through her website DarBeDar.net and select boutiques in Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego and Dubai. Getting them in stores was a process since Raassi wanted “the right match for a vendor. It has to be a place I know will well-represent my line, and also a place whose clientele will appreciate my designs.”
Her designs, she says, are for every woman. “I don’t design with a specific woman in mind. I design with the hope that women who feel empowered and love their bodies will feel amazing when they put on one of my bikinis.”
While Raassi describes her bikinis as “sexy,” she says that she is proud of being Muslim and Persian. In fact, she carries her Koran with her everywhere, a habit she had before she left Iran.
“But just like all women around the world can wear whatever they want, so should an Iranian woman. Clothes are something that empowers women,” she wrote in an article in Marie Claire magazine. “When I wear dressy clothes I feel confident. I think women are beautiful and should be celebrated.”
Raassi’s goal: “To become an icon, a role-model for all women that want to do something. Whether it’s in fashion, becoming a doctor or even becoming a mother, they shouldn’t let anything stop them.”