A Moroccan fashion designer has made it her mission to modernize the traditional caftan. The garment recently made it onto the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kenza Banani's New Tangier boutique in Marrakech is redefining the Moroccan wardrobe by merging traditional crafts and textiles with modern design. The brand aims to make garments like the caftan, a symbol of Moroccan identity for centuries, accessible for daily wear rather than just special occasions.

Creative director Hicham Bouzid and Banani highlight a growing trend of young Moroccan designers gaining international recognition. The brand focuses on local production, using only natural, locally sourced fibers, and emphasizes sustainability as Moroccan kaftans are added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list.

Meet the Moroccan designer modernizing the traditional caftan

Kenza Banani's new Tangier boutique in Marrakech is the home of the modern Moroccan wardrobe. The luxury clothing line creates new designs using traditional crafts and textiles. 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. Creative director Hicham Bouzid is a fan. For him the Moroccan kaftan is a symbol of national identity passed down from generation to generation for the last eight centuries. The Moroccan fashion and the Moroccan traditions has us always wearing beautiful gowns and kaftans 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. Moroccan kaftans have just been added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. Banani sees a bright future ahead. 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 a focus on being as local as possible and kind of in a way de-globalizing things. Globalized and sustainable, new Tangier only uses natural fibers that are locally sourced.

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Al Mukalla

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Kyiv

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Palm Beach

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Breakdown