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Moroccan Fashion Grows in Popularity


The influence of Moroccan fashion is spreading worldwide. According to fashion expert, Rachida Alaoui, it comes from a long tradition and an ancient heritage. The burnous, the caftan, the jellaba, the haAk and other garments are signs of how Moroccan urban clothes have spread throughout time. The blooming of dress traditions from their Andalusian heritage and the Moorish and Spanish fashions long interested the western travelers and ambassadors from the 16th to 18th centuries, and "oriental" fashions conquered the 19th century Romantics, as well as Matisse in the 20th century.

Traditional garments have constantly evolved, with new fabrics, colors and patterns, integrating foreign influences - oriental, Andalusian, Ottoman, and finally European - but have always maintained their predominant position and social meaning, in spite of modernity and the appearance of western clothes. This special vitality has been noticed by French fashion designers, such as Mariano Fortuny, Paul Poiret and Yves Saint Laurent, who, with bright and original designs, have used Moroccan patterns, styles and ornaments in their creations, and have been irresistibly influenced by the enchanting splendor of Moroccan garments.

Not everyone can make the trip to Morocco to explore the wonderful Fez or Marrakech, but there is certainly no lack of opportunity to find Moroccan fashion online. A quick search will reveal thousands of enterprises selling Moroccan goods.

In the UK one of the most well established is Moroccan Bazaar. Established in 1970, the firm has been at the forefront of the supply of fine Moroccan artifacts for over three decades. Situated in Park Royal North West London, they also run a worldwide service through their website.

In the USA one of the major importers who sell via the web is Just Morocco.
NY Fashion Week Fall '08. Moroccan Influence Adds Some Spice at Joanne Mastroianni For Fall 2008 Joanne Mastroianni drew her inspiration from the Kingdom of Morocco, the the intricacy of its architecture elaborate grillwork and inlaid tiles. The divergent cultures influenced the extensiveness of her collection. Day wear and evening wear were combined to create a modern way of dressing both exotic, diverse and luxurious.

This was successful for the most part, except for a lapis blue cape with space-age circular cutouts and a few "Spock-like" naru collar pant suit combinations that were really a bit too out of this world, or reminiscent of the bad part of the 80's. But the rest of the collection was beautiful, wearable and collectible - some of the pieces could stay in a woman's wardrobe for years.