Mazdack Rassi is an

Iranian-American Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

and creative entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder of Milk Studios with partners Erez Shternlicht and Moishe Mana, as a co-founder of

Milk Makeup Milk Makeup is a New York City-based cosmetics and skin care company created by the founders of Milk Studios. Despite its name, it is 100% vegan. History Milk Makeup was launched in February 2016 and was founded in New York City by Milk Studio ...

and Camp David in Brooklyn, New York.

Early life

Rassi was born in

Tehran, Iran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

. His family left the country because of the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

and moved to rural

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

at the age of nine. Rassi's father, a

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

graduate and former Iranian diplomat, went from being an educator in Iran to a professor at the University of Illinois. His mother found work in the costume department. In 1994, Rassi dropped out of community college, borrowed $500 from his mother, and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He began working "two or three jobs," from splitting

falafel Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in a p ...

to working at

the Gap The Gap may refer to: Places Australia * The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales * The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory * The Gap, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland ...

Milk Studios

After earning his real estate license, Rassi rented an apartment to his two future partners, then unbeknownst to him, Erez Shternlicht and Moisha Mana. He later convinced the duo to open a photography studio in the

Meatpacking District The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street. The Meatpacking Business Improvement District along ...

with him and to let him run it. This became Milk Studios, a media conglomerate that now is a hub for fashion, photography, casting, videography, media publishing, and cosmetics

Industry visibility

Mazdack Rassi was instrumental in helping launch the careers of young fashion creators Alexander Wang,

Joseph Altuzarra Joseph Altuzarra (born 1983), is a French-American luxury women's ready-to-wear clothing designer. He launched his brand, Altuzarra, in New York in 2008. His brand is influenced by his multicultural upbringing and his international education ...

Hood By Air Hood By Air is a high fashion brand based in New York City first launched in 2006 and active to the present day, with the exception of a hiatus between early 2017 – 2019. The brand was co-founded by designers, Shayne Oliver and Raul Lopez (desig ...

, Cushnie et Ochs, via MADE Fashion Week, a program he started at Milk Studios with co-founders Jenné Lombardo and Keith Baptista. Tattoo artist Scott Campbell partnered with Rassi and MILK Studios to host the "Whole Glory" show. Rassi is a regular VIP at widely covered fashion events and music concerts.

Personal life

Rassi is married to Zanna Roberts Rassi, senior fashion editor at

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

and correspondent on E!. They live in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

with two daughters - Rumi and Juno.

Charity and Honors

Rassi serves on the

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...

Board of Governors, New York City Ballet Board of Directors and the Board of Burton Snowboards. He was the honoree of

Make-A-Wish The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headquar ...

's 2016 Power of a Wish Gala. He also co-hosted the first annual Autism Tomorrow benefit. Rassi is also a long-standing advocate and advisor for the Global Poverty Project and the Global Citizen Festival. He has been devoted to the betterment of New York City for years and has demonstrated his commitment to improving commerce and the existing fashion ecosystem with his work for NYC 2020, the Meatpacking BID Steering Committee and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rassi, Mazdack Living people American people of Iranian descent American fashion businesspeople Businesspeople from Tehran 1970 births