With finals and graduation approaching, you would think that Episcopal High School senior Amir Taghi would have enough to do without presenting an elaborate runway show at his parents' Tanglewood home.
But the 19-year-old has a real passion for fashion, so he staged a New York-style presentation highlighting his fall winter collection, featuring 13 looks in dark colors with intricate lace trim, tulle detail and organza overlays that lent an air of mystery and intrigue to the models wearing them.
"I felt a lot freer to do whatever I wanted. I had no restrictions. And since it was so much smaller, I was able to develop things at a deeper level than before."
A stickler for detail, Taghi marked each seat that lined the runway in several rooms with the calligraphed name of the more than 150 guests, including Diane Lokey Farb, Chloe Dao, Monsour Taghdisi and Henry Richardson, Neal Hamil, Jana Arnoldy, Lindley Arnoldy, Beth Muecke, Yvonne Cormier, Ursaline Hamilton, Erika Bagwell, and the designer's proud parents, Fariba and Iraj Taghi.
Also on hand were Tatiana Massey, owner of the chic Laboratoria boutique, Tootsies creative director Fady Armanious, Martine Weitz, Danielle Cullen, Duyen Huynh, Sima Ladjevardian, Leisa Holland Nelson, Beth Muecke, Roz Pactor, Maryam Afshari and Ali Taghi.
Dao, who knows a thing or two about fashion with a thriving label and a store bearing her name, praised the collection as "a lot sexier" and a dramatic departure for Taghi, who has shown several previous collections in Houston and New York.
"My whole thing is individualism," Taghi explained. "Each girl has a individualistic style. She needs to show herself the way she wants to show herself. And I'm there to help her along the way."
Taghi said that with a new seamstress, "I felt a lot freer to do whatever I wanted. I had no restrictions. And since (the collection) was so much smaller, I was able to develop things at a deeper level than before."
Normally a fashion show features anywhere from 25 to 45 looks, but Taghi concentrated on only 13 styles, although many looks feature several pieces that can be mixed and matched with an existing wardrobe.
The small collection, created with luxurious fabrics, opens with a velvet and satin cape paired with a lace skirt that sets a sophisticated tone. Among the other highlights are body-hugging cigarette pants with a tulle-trimed black mink crop, black stretch velvet bell bottom pants with lace detail paired with a floral cloque top cut high to expose the midriff, and a plunging V-neck jersey dress with cutouts along the side.
The consensus among the Houston fashion crowd was that Taghi had upped his game, with improvements in style and quality, along with a darker, sexier attitude.
He is now headed off to the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London, where he will study fashion design for the next six years. The school is home to such prestigious alumni as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Stella McCartney, so Taghi's supporters can hardly wait to see the changes in store as the young designer is exposed to the world's best fashion training.
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Taghi's fall collection is available by appointment at 713-826-1417 or info@amirtaghi.com.
Amir Taghi, left, and Campbell Sinclair.
