Speaking to Honaronline, Mahdi Afzali said it is possible to tap into the vast potentials of the port city in fashion with help from university scholars and industry players.

He said: Thanks to the participation of many Asian and European countries, the 8th edition of the Iranian Clothing and Fashion Festival proved a success. The festival was also held in Tehran in collaboration with 9 countries, which shows its importance is growing by the year. We signed several agreements and decided to hold its international edition in Chabahar. This year 19 countries took part in the Chabahar event.

According to Afzali, the idea is to promote and expand cultural commonalties with other countries in coming years. They will help select top works and designers. They will receive top awards like the Mahtab Award in embroidery.

In regard to embroidery, he said, Chabahar is a perfect candidate to help promote Iranian embroidery: The idea is to improve the international standing of clothing and fashion industry in Iran. We won’t limit ourselves to the festival event. The ultimate goal is to set up training workshops for fashion and clothing students as well.

The international section of the 8th edition of Fashion and Clothing Festival was held last February in Chabahar. Over 16 countries from Asia and Europe took part in the four-day annual event.