BEN PARSA

"The concept of one of a kind, handmade shirts started early on during Ben Parsa's college years. As a second year student at UIUC he was enrolled in printmaking and studied the ancient and new techniques for making prints on paper, canvas, fabric, and much more. This phase of experiments led him to begin with his own clothes by deconstructing and screen printing them. He received many compliments on these unique pieces of art which inspired him to continue this trade. As an art and design student he picked up fashion design on the side to learn the techniques involved for the apparel industry. For his thesis project he followed the trends and techniques used in the apparel industry and produced 7 pieces of garment that received many compliments.


After graduating UIUC with a degree of Art and Design, Ben decided not to follow the conventional route of a 9-5 job but instead pour his energy and efforts into launching his own collection of handmade apparel. It took time for him to really focus in on the collection and achieve a design perspective. The collection is geared towards the fashion forward crowd with a taste for good fit, high quality fabrics, and beautiful artwork all handmade to ensure each shirt is unique and different from the other.

Ben Parsa launched his first collection on Dec 6, 2007 which was an immediate hit.
Shortly after the quick sell out that led to Akira Stores carrying Parsa’s 1st collection, this young 20 something designer who took a risk as a server in local restaurants to follow his passion of being a designer, had a very short opportunity to enjoy his new success. Feeling a step closer to his dream, Ben was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma on Dec 31st 2007. Four months of in patient treatment, and still designing from his North Western hospital bed during chemotherapy, Ben fought back with a bigger and better 2nd collection.With plenty of time to surf the web, Ben stumbled across Imerman Angels, a unique one-on-one cancer support group. He thought how amazing it would be to host an event to benefit others like himself, which led to the Parsa Atelier Fashion Show & Fundraiser at Club Royale on Aug, 7th 2008.

The near future of Parsa Atelier is exciting. Currently working closely with other artist, designers, and local boutiques. Parsa Atelier is also expanding west and east and bringing another urban line PWT 1/1 to its Chicago following. "

R. Demian

PARSA ATELIER

Inspired by Persian caligraphy and rock/pop culture.


"The Parsa Atelier line is a direct consequence of Ben Parsa's cultural background, heritage and his course of life. Ben Parsa, A Persian, Dutch, American was introduced to Persian Caligraphy at a young age. He grew up with the poetry of Hafez, Khayyam and the writings of Ferdowsi, which influenced his artistic style and taste at an early age. However growing up and being exposed to different cultures and backgrounds is what made this cultural explosion of Parsa Atelier possible. The designs are inspired by ancient Persian poems, and are directly related to our current rock/pop culture. As a music, movie and pop culture fanatic it was only natural for Ben Parsa to combine these art forms in his designs. His creations carry the themes that keep us entangled in the grind of life, such as love, wisdom, ethics, religion and happiness."