Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
decoration. The latter are made
of skin and goats' hair and are
usually colourful. Look for them
in the northern part of the
souk or down at the Place
des Ferblantiers.
^
Leather bags
both local and foreign, produce
more modern designs. Look out
for Joanna Bristow's brilliant
designs in select hotel
boutiques such as La
Maison Arabe
(see p46)
.
(
Fashion
Marrakech is known
for its leather. It is made
by treating animal hides by
hand in the tanneries
(see
p68)
in the east of the
medina which are then
dyed. Unsurprisingly, the
shops of the souk are filled with
leather goods from purses to
handbags to book bindings. Do
plenty of window shopping
before settling on an item.
Marrakech may have
inspired countless
foreign couturiers from
Yves Saint-Laurent to Tom
Ford. However, it's only
recently that the city has
begun to develop a fashion
of its own. There are some young
Moroccan designers producing
beautiful clothing, like the high
profile brothers behind the
boutique Beldi, whose collections
made from local fabric are
tailored to Western sensibilities.
)
Marra-Kitsch
Jewellery
A recent trend amongst local
designers involves taking the
iconography of Marrakech and
giving it a Pop-ish twist. Florence
Tarrane of Kulchi
(see p70)
does
shoulder bags that feature the
khamsa
(five-fingered hand), the
Arab good-luck symbol. Hassan
Hajjaj makes
fanous
from sheets
of tin printed with advertising
logos, sold at his Riad Yima, five
minutes from Jemaa El Fna
(
www.riadyima.com).
Leather bag
&
Candles
Candles are used to great
effect in local restaurants. They
are sold in all shapes, colours
and sizes in the souk, and some
of the designs can be
highly inventive. Some
of the best are made
by a small company
called Amira
(www.
amirabougies.com)
and you can buy them
in various boutiques.
*
Jewellery
The local Berber
jewellery is silver,
chunky and heavy.
However, a number of
artisans in Marrakech,
Pile of carpets in the Souk des Tapis
17
Share your travel recommendations on traveldk.com
