Dr. Papageorgiou: “Greetings Mr. Moridani, welcome to Talk am Hirschgraben and yes, I’m very much looking forward to our conversation. Mr. M. Moridani… is an Italian name, am I right? And let me guess: M. for Massimo, so Massimo Moridani?”

M. Moridani: (laughs), “Yes, that’s how I’ve interpreted and even used my name before, but no, the name is of Persian origin. Masoud Moridani.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “What geographical region of Persia are you from?”

M. Moridani: “All the way from the north. I guess the German analog would be East Frisia.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: Ah ok, this is going to be an even more interesting conversation than expected and especially because of your profession. You’re a custom tailor (pahlundbauer.com) with your main location in Berlin, and now soon in Zurich. We plastic surgeons also call ourselves “custom surgeons”, but now I have to ask: How and when did you come to Germany as an East Frisian Persian?”

M. Moridani: “My family fled with us to Germany or Berlin for political reasons, in 1989 and I note: before the fall of the Wall, so still in Old Berlin … We were housed at that time, at the beginning, in an abandoned American barracks in Steglitz.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “In Berlin, I assume you also attended school, etc., but I don’t want to go into detail about the time of puberty. Whereby I don’t want to go into detail about the time of puberty, which is always very boring anyway … all the studying, all the afternoon activities … So you were always in Berlin?”

(Both laugh out loud)

M. Moridani: “Yes, that’s right. Then in Berlin, after my school career, I also studied architecture and after graduation I also worked as an architect. But I quickly put architecture aside and started my own business in fashion. Fashion was and is my great passion. As a result, I went straight into custom suits.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “Your architecture studies certainly didn’t do you any harm. Architecture, after all, is also an art, at least that’s how I classify it, and has many intersections with fashion. You are then a kind of Persian-East Frisian-achitectural tailor.”

M. Moridani: “Please the emphasis on ostfriesisch! That was the hardest title!”

(Both laugh)

Dr. Papageorgiou: “What kind of people are interested in tailor-made suits in Berlin?”

M. Moridani: “I have a completely mixed clientele, with no socio-cultural concentration on any particular group. What all my clients have in common is the desire for something individual and special.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “It’s similar in my field of plastic aesthetic surgery, whether it’s liposuction, for example, or non-invasive procedures such as wrinkle injections. A completely mixed clientele. Now, instead of asking what you enjoy most about your job, let’s ask, what do you enjoy least about your job?”

M. Moridani: “I can’t think of what I don’t like. I’m passionate about this profession.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “I knew it, the answer is the same!”

(Both laugh)

Dr. Papageorgiou: “What are your plans in Switzerland?”

M. Moridani: “I have a lot of Swiss clients in Berlin and I notice a lot of demand in this area.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “Where do you think that comes from? I mean that in this case the Swiss show a much higher interest in tailored fashion than the Germans? I don’t think the financial aspect plays the decisive factor here. After all, money can be spent on anything. It has to be something different.”

M. Moridani: “I think it’s the deeper understanding and a higher appreciation of custom work. Custom-made products enjoy a higher level of popularity in Switzerland.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “In plastic surgery, it’s similar to a tailor-made suit trying to conceal a little too much fat on the hips or belly. We just don’t conceal, we correct the initial findings. Have you ever treated yourself to anything custom or made-to-measure?” (www.vassiliospapageorgiou.com/procedures/oberschenkelstraffung)

M. Moridani: “Yes, I’ve had my nose done. And yes, for purely aesthetic reasons. It was asymmetrical and bothered me. I am still very happy with the result today.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “So you already had a positive exposure to the field of aesthetic surgery. What do you think of the discussion about plastic surgery, in which often quite extreme examples, almost only deterrent examples are presented with the result that the viewers just shake their heads and say: something so crazy, you can’t have something like that done?”

M. Moridani: “In principle, I don’t think much of extreme examples. They don’t represent the vast majority and are therefore unsuitable as a basis for discussion. I believe that the individual’s perceived level of suffering, be it because of the nose or the legs or the wrinkles or the beer belly cannot be assessed by anyone other than the person affected. And it’s whose assessment that needs to be respected.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “In other words, plastic surgery should move into the field and present itself: Yes, anything is possible?”

M. Moridani: “Presenting itself like that not, but doing it if necessary yes. Why not? These limits are usually set by people who do not feel any pressure to suffer. I’m open to that. This must be decided individually between the doctor and the patient. This decision should only ever be made in this way. I consider arbitrary limits from outside to be, as already explained, arbitrary. This is a matter between the patient and the physician.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “So you don’t put any limits there and stand by a very individual decision?”

M. Moridani: “Exactly.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “I think this pursuit of individuality, I don’t mean of the mind or the philosophy, I mean of outward appearance is a strong and global trend.”

M. Moridani: “Yes. The individual appearance is strongly, very strongly trending. Same thing I observe.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “Exactly, I also observe that this dynamic trend of individual appearance leads in the end to a mass of individual appearances. Very clearly this was seen in my past time in Berlin. I mean, you see a bunch of people, some of them frantically trying to look individual.”

M. Moridani: “Exactly, a paradox!”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “In the end, we have a state that cancels itself.”

M. Moridani: “Right! I mean, the sole appearance feature among very many sole appearance features is then, if necessary, no longer a sole appearance feature, but exactly the opposite.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “The result would be, yes, that then the not very individual appearances, are the ones that would have a sole appearance feature and not the ones that have made an effort.”

M. Moridani: “I suppose that when that point is reached, the whole thing starts all over again. Only now in the direction of no sole appearance feature.”

Dr. Papageorgiou: “You realize we could go on endlessly. So let’s end it for today. Mr. Moridani, thank you for the inspiring conversation.”

M. Moridani: “Thank you as well for having me.”