When 28-year-old Khotan launched her women's clothing shop on Instagram recently, she decided to showcase collections of colorful, form-fitting crop tops and T-shirts rather than the compulsory coverings long mandated by Iranian authorities.
"We did at some point think about selling headscarves and cloaks," says the Tehran-based designer, who spoke to NPR on a fuzzy Zoom line giving only her first name for fear of being tracked down and detained for criticizing the government. "In the end, we decided to post Instagram stories showing our followers different ways they can fashion their scarves into tops or skirts instead."
