Said Mahrouf came to the Netherlands at the age of nine where he grew up. During his study he participated in an exchange program which brought him
to New York at the Pratt Institute. Said started working with the Mandle Performance Company as a costume designer and eventualy graduated from
the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam whereafter a voyage started from a return to New york via Amsterdam to Casablanca, Marocco.

Do you miss the Western culture?
I find myself in the midst between two cultures, fortunate enough to live in the richer, creative part of Casablanca. The European influence is not far from here, there is a lot of progress and development going on and one can find luxury fashion brands like Dior and YSL which are characteristic for a metropole. Casablanca is modern and standing on the forefront of a new era.

When did you decide to settle in Casablanca?
NYC was fabulous on the professional level, but I was forced to make the decision to move back to Amsterdam where I founded my own performance company: ‘composiTe’. From exhibitions and performaces to my first pret a porter in Paris now my place is here in Casablanca. I speak the language, it’s my own culture and there is plenty of opportunity here for me, more than anywhere else.

 
[pro-player height=”376″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKmNjU4KSXg[/pro-player]

Thinking of Casablanca I recall Humprey and Ingrid in the 1942 Hollywood classic. How has Casablanca changed more than half a century later?
Morocco once was colonized by the French whose strong influence is found
in the language since most inhabitants speak French. There are some nice Art Deco remains in the old part of Casablanca—what makes it reflect a Parisian atmosphere—where you find the creative and productive resonance of the metropole, different to what you will encounter in Marrakesh.

With the opening of Le Studio des Arts Vivants (the living arts studio), the first multi-discipline art space in Morocco, Casablanca is taking its place at the centre of the country’s contemporary art scene. What does the future bring for arts & design seen from your perspective?
Music, dance, fashion, all these are evolving in Morocco. Recently an art academy has been established and now they have their first time second year students, with professors from Paris. There was also the first edition of the Marrakesh Art fair, having its second in September/October. Modernization according to European models just started happening here in Morocco, so there is plenty of room for foreign designers and artists. Religion is moving in harmony with these changes, especially here in metropolitan Casablanca where a large area is almost European, conflating with traditions. To illustrate this:
I made an installation which was sponsored by Absolut Vodka.

You are now appointed as creative director of Caftan, the fashion event
for Morocco and the Arabic world. Can you tell us about this?
15 Years ago the magazine ‘Femmes du Maroc’ created a platfrom for the traditional dress in Morocco: Caftan. There were not so many designers who were seen as couturiers in that time. The reason why since then every year there is a guest of honour, a famous designer who partakes at this fashion event. For instance the caftans from JeanPaul Gaultier.

‘Caftan’ is a live broadcasted popular event that seats approximately 1500 guests and is on Morocco’s most popular television station at primetime. 
The show presents the latest fashion in traditional clothing and is filled with entertainment in between the designers presentations. For modern fashion we have Festimode Casablanca Fashion Week that is strictly about modern fashion and showcases the local and international Moroccan designers. I am among those international Moroccan designers to presents my collection at this event every single year. Casablanca Fashion Week reached its 6th edition and is growing. Hopefully when it reaches its 15th edition they can count on the same financial support as the Caftan show.

What are you up to now?
I am in the middle of producing a collection for Gallery Lafayette Casablanca, to be opened in October in ‘Morocco Mall’. According to their expectations there will be 15 million visitors per year. The forthcoming project for Volkswagen in Casablanca which I am involved with will have my fullest attention and the next big step is a haute couture show in Paris for which
I have been invited, but I can not say with certainty that this will happen.
It is my dream to make my mark in Paris with my brand, but then again showing my collection at Festimode Casablanca Fashion Week has great priority.

With the passion and dedication I put into my work I can say to already have achieved the unthinkable when I look back at my time in the Netherlands where I was focused only on my art work and having a hard time getting my fashion collection seen by the Dutch fashion scene. 

 
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Said Mahrouf