.......................................................................................................................................................... Faces and Bodies: Gendered Modernity and Fashion Photography in Tehran Alec H. Balasescu .......................................................................................................................................................... This article discusses the production of fashion photography in Tehran, emphasising the modes of representation of bodies in public spaces. The empirical argument of this article is based on interviews with fashion designers and three photographers in Tehran, observations at two photographic sessions for fashion and observations on different visual regimes in this city. The research took place between 2002 and 2004. 1 The analysis of fashion photographic practices reveals the dynamic of norms regarding body-presence in Tehran’s urban spaces. The argument here concerns the representation of mobility and the meanings that body mobility gains in relation to gender and the concept of modernity. Driving or walking through Tehran, one cannot but notice the adver- tisements for ‘e-cut’ (Figure 1). E-cut, a ready-to-wear fashion brand for men, uses ‘stars’ to advertise its products. Mohammad Reza Golzar, the lead singer in the band Aryan, appears on the banners in two different poses: at the seashore, barefoot, dressed in an e-cut three-piece suit, petting a horse (only the head of the horse is visible, along with Mr Golzar from the chest up). The same model can also be seen shooting an arrow with a defiant attitude. In contrast with this, in and around Tehran there are no banners advertising women’s fashion. Likewise, with a few exceptions that will be discussed in the text, there are no representa- tions of women at all on Tehran’s streets, parks or public spaces. At the moment, e-cut is the only brand that advertises fashion products on public boardings. Photography is a matter of concern in any public space, be it Muslim or not. Representing an object (the body) through photography means not only invoking the spectre of that object but also recreating its material presence, albeit a two-dimensional one. Approaching the Ó Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Gender & History ISSN 0953-5233 Alec H. Balasescu, ‘Faces and Bodies: Gendered Modernity and Fashion Photography in Tehran’ Gender & History, Vol.17 No.3 November 2005, pp. 737–768.