No matter what discipline she’s working in, Golnar Ahmadian has a proven knack for bringing her creative visions to life. After moving from Tehran to Toronto, she turned her eye for design—honed by an education in architecture—toward building a handmade-jewellery line, Lo’bat. Its growth encouraged Ahmadian to continue expanding her repertoire into clothing and lifestyle. “I don’t like to restrict myself to only one field, one style or one category,” she says.

Golshaah began as an outlet for sharing her interior-design projects and eventually morphed into an experimental-knitwear capsule with pieces featuring embroidery that references Iranian history. “It was a very cultural project,” says Ahmadian. “I wanted to show my background and Iran but in a contemporary way.” Since then, she’s put out several collections while also collaborating with her partner, Majid Darabiha, on the home-objects and furniture side of the brand.

For Ahmadian, Golshaah’s DNA resides in her signature design features: cascading layers, dramatic volume and strong, structured silhouettes. The clothes, while striking on their own, take on a new life when worn thanks to delicately playful details like external shoulder pads and unexpected belt loops. With this, Ahmadian passes the creative power back to the wearer so they can make each piece their own. “I once got feedback that I should include little brochures with my clothes to show how many different ways you can style them,” she says with a smile.

Golshaah

Assertive Style

“The important thing for me is that people feel confident when they wear a piece of mine. I like that the clothes can also be conversation starters. Fashion is a way to discover who you are. I love how people can have their own journey in the clothes that I make—and knowing that it’s probably going to be a totally different feeling than what I had in mind.”

Core Closet

“An essential wardrobe is not just about a white shirt and simple pants that you can wear every day. To me, an essential piece is one that has a lot of details and a lot to say. It’s about how it inspires you to be creative in how you style it. With our pieces, there are so many different ways you can wear and style them. You can turn them around on your body, play around with the button closures or layer them over different pieces.”

Infinite Inspiration

“Sometimes when I’m working on a furniture collection, I get inspiration for my clothing designs as well. Or when I’m working on a fashion collection, I feel like what I’m thinking about can also come out as a [piece of] furniture. The main [way I get] inspiration is by being out in the world all the time. I like to socialize with people and learn from what they’re going through. I have always felt like the core of all of these disciplines—architecture, fashion and jewellery—is design, and I’m privileged to have the chance to explore all of this.”

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