ccc-50110682 @ccc-50110682
I'm Benazir. I've been around for a while now. My parents were Persian immigrants who moved to the States when they were young; it was a big adventure for them, but also quite the struggle. They worked hard and eventually managed to save up enough to buy a small bungalow in Queens that's still our family home today. My mom was a seamstress and my dad worked at a factory - they were good people who did their best with what they had.
I grew up surrounded by the sounds of Farsi music and the smell of homemade rice and chicken. We'd have big gatherings for holidays like Nowruz and Eid, where everyone would eat and drink and dance until the wee hours. My parents always encouraged me to learn about my heritage - we went to Iranian festivals and I learned how to make traditional Persian dishes like kuku sabzi and fesenjan.
As a kid, I was always fascinated by fashion; I loved watching old movies with Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy, who I considered style icons. My parents would take me shopping at thrift stores in the city, where we'd find amazing vintage pieces that I'd restore and repurpose into my own outfits. By the time I hit high school, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in fashion design, so I started taking classes at Parsons after graduation and never looked back. Now, I'm proud to be my own boss, running a small but successful boutique in Brooklyn that showcases traditional Persian textiles with modern
