[Kenza Bennani, contemporary traditional fashion designer, entering her boutique inside La Mamounia hotel in Marrakech]
[Oona, a worker from Belgium in the boutique welcoming Kenza and taking a modern caftan from the rack]
[Oona and Kenza talking about the modern caftan]
[Various modern caftans hanging up in boutique]
[Label with brand name reading “New Tangier”]
[Kenza and Oona trying to match a modern caftan for a bride with its top]
Kenza Bennani (interview): “We design modern Moroccan clothes with a focus on different origins as we are a crossroad of different civilizations, historically. And so we try to reinterpret these different cuts and different heritages in a way that is contemporary.”
[Kenza sitting in her office inside her grandmother’s house, next to her brother, drawing a sketch for a new design]
[Sketch being drawn by Kenza]
[Kenza choosing the colors of fabric for a new design]
Kenza Bennani (interview): “We’re focusing on the form and the function of traditional Moroccan clothes, and not focusing on the ornamental aspect, which is generally what is expected of Moroccan clothing, and that way that allows us to really kind of highlight the beauty of the cut and the modernity of the cuts, and the fact that they’re extremely body-friendly, they’re unisex, they’re the same shapes for men and women, so we try to just really don’t invent anything new. We’re just really kind of digging into the history of Moroccan clothing.”
[Kenza and Hicham Bouzid, creative director of cultural agency “Think Tanger, ” entering her showroom and walking toward her office]
[Kenza and Hicham talking]
[Modern summer caftans in the showroom]
[Green modern caftan for winter next to modern traditional coats]
Hicham Bouzid (interview): “The Moroccan fashion and the Moroccan tradition has, as always, wearing beautiful gowns and caftans and very heavily traditionally Moroccan clothing, that is part of our identity. But I think what’s important here that New Tangier does is getting inspired and getting work done from the cuts, from the very basic traditions of those same clothing, but taking them out from the closet. So we don’t need to be going to a specific wedding or a celebration to wear those gowns, but we really can actually wear the Moroccan traditional clothing on an everyday level, an everyday event.”
[Kenza in workshop, next to the craftsman tracing the caftan design onto fabric]
[Another craftswoman sewing the bias tape along the sleeve edges]
[Craftsman cutting fabric]
Kenza Bennani (interview): “Every different specific know-how will bring something to the design. So it’s not a design approach that is executive in the sense that it’s not just about having a drawing and being able to execute it. It’s more about designing together how do we get to this final result.”
[Craftsmen working on caftans]
[Cotton reel]
Kenza Bennani (interview): “We work exclusively with natural fibres, so it’s wools, linens, cottons, and silks. Everything is sourced locally because we try to keep a sustainable approach, which means that we don’t want to import fabric, but it also means that it makes our job finding fabric much more complicated because most of the market is polyester, unfortunately, and we try to absolutely not engage with that kind of production.”
[Clothes]
[Caftan next to rack of pants]
[Coats]
[Embroidery on the front of the coat]
[Various modern caftans]
[Racks of clothes at the entrance of the boutique]
Kenza Bennani (interview): “I think there’s a bright future ahead in the sense that there’s enormous creativity and I think more and more young designers are starting to shine on the international platforms, whether it’s in haute couture or in contemporary ready-to-wear, or even in accessories, we have some amazing brands. We have a lot of obstacles, obviously, but I think the key is going to be focus on being as local as possible and kind of in a way de-globalizing things.”
[Entrance of “New Tangier” boutique in La Mamounia hotel in Marrakech]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.