NEW YORK — Someone once told Shirin Roubeni, if you find something that strikes you, take a picture of it.
Roubeni took the words as gospel and has scrapbook upon scrapbook brimming with oddities that inspire. Everything from a tiny sugar packet she spied in a coffee shop in Italy to the intricately detailed sketches of long-winged insects can be found in the books. Roubeni will feature some of the images in her first fashion collection, launching this spring under the label, Shirin.
Shirin is a collection of one-of-a-kind cotton tops. Each piece is hand-dyed, hand-stitched, and hand-silk-screened by Roubeni in either her East Village apartment or her parents’ house on Long Island. It takes Roubeni an entire day to create one shirt.
“I dye the shirts, then re-dye them, then dip-dye them,” she said one afternoon wearing one of her designs, paired with a skirt. Printing, she said, is the last step. “Images I tend to like are natural and organic. Birds or insects, for instance.”
For this collection, Roubeni starts with a clean, white, sleeveless, cotton top so color possibilities and sleeve options are endless, though she tends to stick with muted, earth tones. The depth of the colors vary due to her dye techniques. Some look rich and weathered while others are crisp and light. She often adds cap sleeves by attaching silk or lace, and hand-dyed ribbons adorn the neck or hang down the center. The wholesale price range of the tops is between $150 and $190.
Roubeni would like to experiment with various fabrics, such as cashmere and silk, and possibly introduce a line of dresses and boy shorts in future collections. Her ultimate goal, she admits, is to create a home collection.
Roubeni, 33, was born in Iran, raised in Germany and moved to the U.S. when she was 14 years old. She studied illustration at the Parsons School of Design and furthered her studies at the Royal College of Art in London, where her focus was printed textiles. Putting her studies to work, Roubeni began a career in decorative painting. “I would paint Venus de Milo in clients’ bathrooms,” she said, laughing. “It was great. It was all about layering, stenciling and it was very hands-on.” From there, Roubeni had the idea to create a more accessible and wearable art.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
“The tops are very pretty, but edgy. I like the contrast. It’s not too sweet, but it’s not too tough, either,” she said, sorting through a pile of tops featuring textured prints of branches, birds and dragonflies with great wingspans. Currently, Roubeni is showing her collection to high-end department and specialty stores. The entire collection can be viewed at shirinnyc.com. She expects the wholesale volume of the collection to reach close to $700,000 in its first year. The spring collection consists of 20 tops, a number Roubeni doesn’t expect to grow much larger.
“I don’t think big,” she said. “I get the feeling that everyone is sick of mass quantities. I can’t do that. At some point, you have to say, ‘Stop.’ I want to have control of my product and I think consumers want something unique.”