ARDAZAEI IS AN INVESTIGATION OF
BEAUTY BEYOND SEASONS
Photographed by Paolo Roversi
Maison ArdAzAei was founded in Stockholm by Swedish—Iranian designer Bahareh Ardakani and her partner Johannes Falk. The Maison debuted in Paris on July 7, 2022, establishing its couture atelier at 11, rue Saint-Florentin. In April 2024, ArdAzAei was invited by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) to join the Official Haute Couture Calendar as a guest member—marking Bahareh as the first Swedish—Iranian designer to receive this distinction.
With a diverse academic background spanning engineering, natural sciences, and gemology, Bahareh has pursued a carefully constructed path that blends cultural heritage, French savoir-faire, and innovation. Born in Teheran 1984 Bahareh relocated to Sweden the following year. Her upbringing fused Scandinavian modernism with deep roots in Persian culture—where poetry and mathematics intertwine with nature’s enigmatic facets.
In 2016, Ardakani encountered lapis lazuli—a deep-blue, metamorphic, semi-precious stone—which compelled her to study gemmology in Antwerp. During microscopic amethyst studies, she saw how a gem’s inner architecture—its crystalline body and mineral constellations—governs how light travels, gathers, and returns. Outer gloss, she realized, is not a surface effect but an echo of what is held within: radiance made visible by structure, pressure, and time.
With this understanding, the gemstone’s hidden inner world opened itself to Bahareh—and she translated what she discovered into fashion and craftsmanship. From this revelation, two design principles emerged: (1) Beauty is structural: outer radiance is revealed through inner construction; (2) Beauty is dual: every creation holds an inner world and an outer appearance, bound together by time, craft, and meaning.
The gemstone becomes not just a metaphor, but a method. Structures revealed under the lens reappear across ArdAzAei. Each creation is an exploration of hidden dimensions: how light behaves, how meaning gathers, how the unseen becomes legible. It becomes a lens: Outer form is inseparable from concealed work—construction, labor, intelligence, time. This is how Bahareh encounters with the sublime in her fashion design: The sense that something within the object exceeds its visible measure.
The ArdAzAei gemstone cut
ArdAzAei is the DNA of Bahareh Ardakani: An aspiration for cultivated elegance shaped by predecessors and the idea that every life builds on the ones before. The name ArdAzAei—a fusion of her parents’ surnames—embodies this continuity: Artefacts and principles are created to exceed, beautify, and further cultivate what others have discovered and developed.
Bahareh developed her own gemstone cut. The cut became a signature language for ArdAzAei, and shaped the Maison’s visual identity.
Ultimately, ArdAzAei creates forever pieces: A seasonless wardrobe designed to endure—made with longevity, reparability, and lasting beauty in mind—so that each creation moves effortlessly from day to night, can be kept, lived in, and passed on, carrying its value beyond the cycle of trends.
ArdAzAei is where Scandinavian Modernism, Persian Heritage and French Savoir-Faire collides.
ArdAzAei draws great influence in Scandinavian modernism, and the importance of sustainability (care), honesty and functionality. Embracing Scandinavian design principles ArdAzAei collections are defined by clean lines, quiet confidence, and deep respect for materials and craft.
Iran, home to one of the world's oldest civilisations is the birthplace of ArdAzAei's Creative Director Bahareh Ardakani. Her Persian heritage runs through the Maison´s DNA, shaping it's visual language and craftsmanship: bold, harmonious color palettes; intricate geometric and floral motifs and architectural silhouettes. ArdAzAei's use of silk, along with it's refined embroidery work echoes traditional techniques while reinterpreting them in a contemporary way.
ArdAzAei Couture is the laboratory where materials, constructions, motifs, and optical ideas are developed at the highest level. Here, the Maison rediscovers and revives couture techniques from hand draping (moulage) and precise tailoring to hand-quilting, smocking, pleating, appliqué, and hand embroidery not as nostalgia, but as living tools for invention.
Like the gem under the microscope, the couture laboratory is where the sublime resides: The most demanding work often lives inside the creation, sometimes invisible from the outside, yet it is precisely this hidden rigor that gives the piece its clarity, balance, and radiance.
The Couture collections are meticulously crafted in the ArdAzAei atelier at 11, rue Saint-Florentin, Paris.
ArdAzAei never compromises on quality, and as such the Maison's Prêt-à-Porter collections are Made in France and Italy, for the two countries sophistication and elegance, excellent craftsmanship, art and culture. There is a focus on rare artisanal expertise linked to living heritage companies with a constant quest for excellence.
THE AESTHETICS OF CARE:
Vision
ArdAzAei’s vision is a world where all textiles are produced in accordance with the principles of health, ecology, fairness, and care, enhancing people’s lives and protecting the environment.
Organic Textiles as a Foundation
Organic textiles are an integral part of our holistic approach and form the foundation of our commitment to responsible and transparent production.
Our commitment
ArdAzAei’s goal is to continuously increase the GOTS prêt-à-porter product range so that 100% our collections are certified sustainable. This means that the entire supply chain is continually audited to follow strict social and environmental standards.
European Sourcing to Reduce Impact
As such, ArdAzAei develops and sources all of its fabrics from within Europe to minimise each design’s carbon footprint, and produces every piece to not just last for a lifetime but for the next life too.
What is GOTS?
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the world’s leading textile processing standard for organic fibres. It defines comprehensive requirements covering both ecological and social criteria.
A Full Supply-Chain Standard
Unlike certifications that only verify that a fabric is organic, GOTS applies to the entire supply chain—from raw material harvesting through processing, manufacturing, and labelling, all the way to the finished product. This full supply-chain approach distinguishes GOTS from most other organic textile certifications.
GOTS certification ensures that the entire supply chain is audited and verified by an independent certification body, confirming compliance with strict environmental and social requirements.
This includes compliance with relevant OECD guidelines and the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO). As a result, all companies involved in the ArdAzAei supply chain are required to uphold internationally recognised standards for labour rights, working conditions, and ethical business conduct.
In addition, GOTS certification guarantees that the final product is free from a comprehensive list of restricted hazardous chemicals, protecting consumers, workers, and the environment.
Our Certification Body
For an ArdAzAei product to be GOTS certified, all suppliers involved in its production must also be certified. Annual audits are carried out at each stage of the production process to ensure continued compliance.
For ArdAzAei, these audits are conducted by Ecocert Greenlife, an independent and internationally recognised certification body.
GOTS Label Grades
Only textile products containing a minimum of 70% organic fibres can be GOTS certified. The standard provides two levels of certification:
1. GOTS “Certified Organic” (Level 1)
Textile products containing at least 95% organic fibres.
2. GOTS “Made with Organic Materials” (Level 2)
Textile products containing at least 70% organic fibres.
GOTS certification of the fabrics used by ArdAzAei ensures that all chemicals applied during textile processing meet strict requirements regarding toxicity, biodegradability, and environmental impact, including the use of dyes and finishing agents.
To protect the health of workers in the textile industry, the use of substances classified as endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, or otherwise hazardous is strictly prohibited.
Rigorous criteria also apply to additional product components such as buttons, interlinings, and packaging. These requirements limit the use of environmentally hazardous chemicals, virgin plastics, PVC, and similar materials. All components must be documented and approved by an independent certification body to demonstrate full compliance with GOTS requirements.
Purchasing Agreements Aligned with GOTS 7.0
ArdAzAei operates under regional purchasing agreements aligned with GOTS 7.0, providing a stable legal framework for long-term cooperation with suppliers. These agreements regulate purchasing practices and ensure compliance with GOTS requirements, as well as ArdAzAei’s Business Code of Conduct and Environmental Policy.
ArdAzAei is committed to minimizing the environmental impact of its activities and products throughout the entire value chain. Our Environmental Policy is aligned with the principles of GOTS 7.0 and reflects our responsibility to protect natural resources, biodiversity, and ecosystems.
Certified companies must demonstrate ambitious environmental objectives, including concrete actions to:
- Reduce water consumption and water pollution
- Identify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Improve energy efficiency and resource use
- Minimise overall environmental impact
We work systematically to:
- Reduce water consumption and prevent water pollution
- Minimize the use of hazardous substances and control chemical inputs
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency and
responsible resource use
- Limit waste and promote reuse, recycling, and responsible disposal
- Prioritize sustainable raw materials and continuous improvement
Environmental considerations are integrated into ArdAzAei’s purchasing decisions, product development, and supplier relationships. Compliance is ensured through monitoring, documentation, and independent verification.
This approach echoes Bahareh Ardakani's design philosophy: if a piece outer beauty is shaped by its inner construction, the responsability must be structural too—built in from the start, not added afterward.
In accordance with GOTS 7.0 requirements, ArdAzAei provides a transparent and accessible mechanism for reporting concerns related to environmental practices, social conditions.
Confidentialy and Non-Retaliation
Reports are handled confidentially, impartially, and without retaliation, and are reviewed carefully with appropriate follow-up to support transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Please contact us using the reporting form below:
"THE MORE WE DISCOVER OF NATURE, THE MORE WE BECOME AWARE OF OURSELVES"
Hilma Klimt, Swedish Painter (1862-1944)