LOULOU
d’AKI

CITY HEADACHE 

TEHRAN


The Islamic dress code implies on women to cover their hair with a hijab and to wear a  Manteau over their clothes outside. As in many other aspects of the Iranian society, this means a great deal of compromise on a daily basis. 

Men do not have to follow any specific dress code but the Islamic republic does not allow shorts, long hair and tattoos. 


The post-war generations’ way of handling the Iranian dress code in its own way within a society where the urban recollection of war and martyrdom is an inevitable and constant factor fascinated me so I portrayed young women and men in their different outfits: one dressed for inside, according to their desires and one for outside, adapting to the Iranian dress code.



Bahman poses for a portrait in his living room, dressed for outside..
Andisheh on the first day of spring, in the courtyard of her new apartment.
Sasan poses for a portrait in the living room, dressed for inside.
Sanam poses for a portrait in her garden, dressed for inside. Sanam, who is half French and studied photography in Paris, temporarily lives in her parents villa in northern Tehran. The Iranian dress code bothers her. She doesn’t like neither the veil nor
Sanam poses for a portrait in her garden, dressed for inside. Sanam, who is half French and studied photography in Paris, temporarily lives in her parents villa in northern Tehran. The Iranian dress code bothers her. She doesn’t like neither the veil nor
Rahi poses for a portrait in her living room, dressed for outside. Belonging to a strictly religious family, Rahi would wear a chador outside during her time as a married woman. Her parents made her marry at the age of 18, she divorced her husband after 6
View from Kuhestan, northern Tehran.
Using Format