A while ago at work, it was decided that we wanted to have any contractors doing field work for us on an upcoming project to wear jackets bearing our name and logo. So we asked a colleague to find a place for doing this. After spending a day looking into different options, he returned with this brochure. When I saw it at first, I was both furious and amused. One moment I would frown and swear at what I was seeing, only to burst into maniacal laughter the next. What is in this brochure is common behavior in the business world in Iran and although very widespread, getting used to this level of dishonesty requires years of psychological labor. Aside from the fact that it turned out to entertain us for the rest of the evening, we actually called the place later on and went to look at what they were really offering. Thankfully, our bid for the project fell through and we never needed to hire anyone.
By glancing at the pictures and reading the right column, you should notice that Parsian Co. pretty much produces every type of clothing known to mankind: Suits, shirts, pants, overcoats, jackets, sportswear, work clothes, pullovers, T-shirts, shoes, hats, clothing for hospital workers, robes, dressing gowns, overalls, gloves, sweatshirts and hoodies. I’m sure they’d be willing to take special orders for whatever is not listed. But buyers beware. Those floating Parsian tags are there to fool you. Not one of the clothing items depicted in this brochure are actually produced or carried by the company. You would be getting the genuine Parsian material when you order. If they actually happen to have a Wrangler T-shirt in stock, you can bet the tag would be a cut and paste job, just like their name on the red cap.
Among their many fashion models I can spot Germans, Eastern Europeans, Turks and Arabs, a Greek and maybe a Danish dude, but not a single Iranian. Don’t let Parsian Co. know but I think they’ve just been cut out of a wide spectrum of foreign fashion and clothing magazines and put here. My favorite is that hideous three year old man-child thing in the middle of the inside page running towards me. Or maybe it’s hip hop? I would really like to meet the brochure’s designer. I want to know whether he’s an employee of Parsian Co., or some well established graphic artiste they hired. It makes a difference. In the first case, we would only know that Parsian assumes the recipients of this brochure are idiots. In the second case, it would be safe to assume that Parsian decision makers are among the idiots too.