This year, we can feel the Tehran wave in Contemporary Istanbul. Vogue Turkey has also been swept up with this find because we see a portrait series taking as the subject matter women intellectuals of Iran. Could you talk about how this topic emerged?

Seda Domaniç: At Vogue Turkey, we have always placed the woman and art in addition to fashion. When we learned about the theme of Contemporary Istanbul, we started to think about what kin of a project we could develop about Tehran, which has an incredibly diverse cultural heritage. We think that dark days can only be overcome through creativity. So we focused on women who constructed new lives for themselves through their creativity and who inspire those surrounding them. We took great pleasure in meeting and introducing the women intellectuals of Iran that we are featuring in our november issue. We discovered very important names during this project. Our editor Zeynep Yapar interviewed these beautiful women, she wrote about their stories. Mary McCartney took the photographs. We realized the project in London. 

You interviewed successful women in Iran during this project. Do these names have shared concerns or problems? 

Zeynep Yapar: It is possible to talk about a shared belief rather than a shared concern. They believe in the future of their country, they believe in the women of their country. For example, Iranian women were able to transform the harsh dress codes of the state. Their efforts to guarantee their individuality through dress does not directly affect politics, but all the women I met with think that this power of being able to change what the government tolerates is key both socially and politically.

Could you tell us about the stories that you heard? 

Zeynep Yapar: The emotional intensity of filmmaker Tina Gharavi who left the country during the Iranian revolution and she was able to see her mother after 23 years when she returned to Iran for the first time. Author Kamin Mohammadi returned to Iran 27 years after she left as a nine-year-old and to experience that everything that the West says about her country are wrong. Another filmmaker Hana Makhmalbaf having to leave her country in less than an hour with only a carry-on because of a film she made. These are all very intense, very inspiring stories. I suggest strongly that you look at the November issue of Vogue Turkey to take a closer look at these stories. 

Do you want to analyse the characters of the talents that you take the photos of? And regarding the Iranian women were you impressed by any of their stories?

Mary McCartney: Yes, I use taking photographs of people as a chance to learn more about their story and find out who they are. This part of the photo shoot process is important to me because with my style of photography what interests me is allowing my sitter to reveal their character; and at the same time I want to make them look beautiful. Each woman I photographed for the Iranian women photo story had an incredible and individual story.

Hana is a fresh and passionate filmmaker who knows her mind and is on a mission to have her voice heard. 
Kamin is a vivacious and passionate, tactile person who is getting her message out there and enjoying every minute of it. 

Tina is a gutsy, radiant filmmaker who is driven and knows her mind. 

As a project producer and curator I found Abasah to be artistic and elegant and she is passionate about showing talent to the world.

I found Azadeh to be modest, intellectual and informed. She still manages to keep a softness about her even though she is tackling such serious subjects within her journalism.  I found them all to be so strong, bright and positive. 

What motivated you the most about this project?

I wanted to meet all of these women and find out more about their stories. Vogue Turkey collected together such an interesting selection of talented women, and I wanted to explore that.

Did you get the feeling to explore or visit Iran after you meet them?

Yes! It made me want to go immediately, but I would want these women to show me around.