SAEDNEWS: In a candid interview with Vogue Arabia, Iran’s former queen consort, Farah Pahlavi, recalled an unusual ritual performed during her wedding—blue thread sewn into her dress to help her conceive a son.
According to Saed News, a resurfaced quote from Farah Pahlavi’s interview with Vogue Arabia has reignited controversy over the late Pahlavi monarchy’s affinity for superstition and extravagance. The former empress openly admitted that during her wedding preparations, seamstresses working under French designer Yves Saint Laurent—then at Dior—stitched a blue thread into her gown with the hope it would help her bear a male heir.
The revelation, while presented with levity, has drawn sharp criticism from conservative outlets and institutions in the Islamic Republic, who cite it as evidence of irrational beliefs and wasteful royal culture. According to a report by the Islamic Revolution Documents Center, the Shah allocated $500,000 for wedding arrangements and garments. One million French francs alone were reportedly spent on the Dior gown, now displayed in the Sa’dabad Palace’s royal clothing museum as a symbol of Pahlavi opulence.
Though Farah Pahlavi is often portrayed in Western media as a modernising royal figure, her comment—whether symbolic or sincere—offers a striking juxtaposition to that narrative. Critics argue it reinforces long-held perceptions that the royal court, for all its sophistication, remained steeped in archaic customs and magical thinking.
The remarks also touch a cultural nerve in Iran, where traditional beliefs around fertility persist but are often downplayed in elite circles. That such notions were entertained at the pinnacle of the monarchy only fuels the Islamic Republic’s long-standing portrayal of the Pahlavis as disconnected from both scientific rationality and social reality.
