Iranian police cancelled a catwalk show set to mark the opening of an
unofficial Levi’s store in a Tehran shopping centre, the Tasnim news agency
reported Thursday.
The event was cancelled by “a last-minute police intervention” just before
male models were set to walk on stage before a crowd of about 150 on
Wednesday
night, the hardliner-linked news agency said.
Despite opposition from religious leaders to the Westernisation of the
country, luxury shopping centres have sprouted across the capital, with many
unauthorised stores selling smuggled or fake Western brands.
Most US companies are still banned from doing business with Iran despite
a
nuclear deal that lifted some sanctions in January.
The organisers of Wednesday’s fashion event, which was due to take place
in
the Rosha shopping centre in chic northern Tehran, said it was cancelled due
to “technical problems”, Tasnim reported.
Posters advertising the event and using the Levi’s logo were still
available on the shopping centre’s Instagram and Telegram pages. (AFP)
Photo: Levi’s, Facebook