How to become a Caftan Designer? Interview with a Casablanca woman

Salam to all, today Caftan4you has the pleasure to receive a Caftan stylist with the fingers of fairy, who comes to speak to us about its history, its course and to share with us some councils...

Enjoy your reading.

First of all, can you introduce yourself in a few lines?

To begin with, Salam Aleykoum.

My name is Imane Tazi.

My story? This is the story of a young woman who made her passion her profession.

I am currently a stylist in Casablanca where I live, I have the chance to flourish not only in my professional life by exercising a profession that I love but also in my personal life with a wonderful family.

I am the happy mother of two wonderful children, a girl and a boy. I am 34 years old, and I am originally from Fez.

I moved to Casablanca a few years ago to follow my husband who is a doctor.

In life I am a person who loves contact with people, I am both very sociable, I like to laugh, but I am also very strict when it comes to work.

If I had to define a trait of my character that is a bit special, but which helps me on a daily basis, especially in my job, it is the ability to read through people, I can easily understand what is expected of me.

I am a person full of life, I love traveling, going out etc...

How long have you been doing this job? How did you get hooked on this vocation?

Since I was a little girl, I have been surrounded by the world of fashion and sewing, I grew up in a family of dressmakers, my grandparents, my father with whom I spent long moments in the workshop.

But strangely enough, I didn't go directly to that course. I went for something else.

Did you follow a particular training to practice this profession? What was your basic training?

I'll explain my background, I've been searching for a long time.

Basically, I passed a scientific BAC, then I continued on this path by studying physics and chemistry for two years.

Here in Morocco, when we don't go to a job we like, we tend to go to college even if we know we won't necessarily have a job that fully satisfies us.

After these two years I changed my career path and studied Marketing. After that I worked in a very large company in Casablanca for 5 years in the Marketing/Communication Department.

And then, a new turning point in my life, when you get married and have children, it becomes difficult to combine work and family life, you can no longer afford to come home late.

So I stopped my work...

At the same time I always kept this passion for fashion and sewing, so when I went to a dressmaker to have a dress sewn, I liked the attention to detail, I described them the whole dress "I want such fabrics for such parts, then such colors" and at that time the dressmakers asked me :

"Have you ever done any sewing?"

I told them no, but that I knew a few things from my family of dressmakers.

And then I said to myself: Why not start sewing?

So I went to my father's workshop, I stayed three days with him and it was a revelation, I really realized that this is what I liked to do and I asked him to teach me how to sew.

But his answer was negative, which left me perplexed.

According to him, I had to go to a fashion design school to learn the basics of sewing...

And that's what I did when I joined the Lasalle College in Casablanca for two years.

And unlike the other students, I didn't just learn the lessons and wait for the next class.

Everything I learned at school I applied in the family workshop with my father.

And one day while seeing me working, he entrusted me with my first creation which was intended for one of his customers, I showed hesitation at first but he quickly told me "I know you can do it" and that's how he launched me 🙂

Thanks, that's a nice story. Can you tell us how you started in fashion as a designer?

As the wind took me to Casablanca, I started to work little by little, I must admit that at the beginning there were not many people who believed in me, they thought it was just a hobby, but the more I progressed the more I made sketches, the more people noticed my work, the mixture of colors etc..

At the beginning it was very difficult, I started from scratch, I followed the making of the Caftan from A to Z, I ran between embroiderer, silk maker, etc. ...

It wasn't easy at all but with hindsight I realize that this step was a decisive one, to really get to know the work of the different craftsmen and also their methodology.

It was also an opportunity for me to evaluate everyone's work for my future in the profession. I liked that everything was perfect!  

You are from Fez, it is a place known for its craftsmanship, with a very particular decor, has this city influenced you in your work?

Obviously, Fez is really a city apart in Morocco, because of its culture, its wealth.

The people of Fez are very generous and welcoming. So obviously this is felt in my work, it is a touch more special.

We also feel it in the finish of the dress, the mixture of colors.

The basic motto is to start from simplicity, to give value, wealth.

For example, even if we start with a fabric that is not necessarily of good quality, we will succeed in bringing the colors, the designs necessary to magnify the dress.

You are in a profession that requires constant renewal. What are your sources of inspiration?

First of all, we must not forget the experience that counts a lot in the making of dresses.

I get my inspiration at night, when everything is quiet and everyone is asleep. I have often woken up in the middle of the night thinking about a client who is asking me for something in particular, and I have done sketches at 3am.

What there is, is that sometimes I do not have to deal with the customer directly, but an intermediary through whom I must decipher the needs and expectations of the person who will wear my creation, I am often told "I want a simple Caftan, BUT with a personal touch" and there it is up to me to detect the personal touch that will correspond to the wearer of the Caftan

The haute couture changes from year to year, we introduce a new theme, and especially in Caftan, we must know how to be inspired by this theme and interpret it in our creations.

I am also inspired by European fashion, especially by the great designers like Dior, Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent.

I am inspired by their colors, their graphics, their cuts, to bring a touch of modernity to the Caftan, it is a mixture between the modelism and the stylism which gives something very beautiful.

Is it a difficult environment? What advice could you give to readers who want to work in this field?

It's a very difficult world where you have to be a Lioness.

It takes strength of character to manage things successfully.

It's a very tough environment where everyone copies everyone else and what makes the difference is: the personal touch.

It is necessary to know how to detect the personality of the customer to create a Caftan which resembles him.

Some people study sewing for two months and claim to be a stylist, but that's not the point.

And anyway, we see it right away, from the cut, the quality of work, the finishes, and even when they want to copy a piece, they do not succeed.

A beautiful Caftan, a real Caftan made by a real stylist, we notice it immediately, just put it on to transform and reincarnate elegance.

If we take just a simple Caftan, really simple, there are already several steps to pass, choose the right fabric, good quality, because a cheap fabric will never have the same rendering as a good fabric, and it is also felt for the woman when she wears his Caftan.

It is also necessary to work on the cut, then the silk which will be used for the Sfifa, then the buttons, all these things which must be made by hand.

It is not comparable with the local tailor, who will buy everything at the souk, the Sfifa, the buttons already pre-made, who will gather them and claim to be Stylist.

It is really necessary to follow the steps of the confection from A to Z to realize the work provided, to run to the right and to the left while taking care to respect the deadlines of delivery of the dress and especially to return a perfect work which will correspond to the expectations of the customer.

For those who want to become a stylist, my advice is to set a goal, and make sure you follow all the steps from start to finish to reach your goal.

You also need to have character and not be weak because it is a wolf environment where lost sheep are eaten in one go.

You have to be strict, and very professional.

And last but not least, to develop a spirit of trust, whether it is with the artisans we work with or with (and especially) our clients.

They say that buildings survive on the strength of their foundations, what is yours?

The seriousness, the finish, the respect of the deadlines and the self-confidence.

It may seem trivial or trivial, but attention to detail often makes a difference.

I like to do a clean job.

How does this year look like? What did you think of the last Caftan show of Femmes du Maroc?

First of all, I think it's a bit daring this year, some people didn't necessarily respect the Moroccan tradition and there are limits that have been crossed.

First impression "Wow, what's that?

One of my mottos is that you have to start by respecting yourself so that others will respect you, and 90cm lunges are not my thing...

Regarding the work itself, we remain on Caftans simple enough but we play a lot on the fabrics, we saw a lot of very noble fabrics, these are fabrics that come from abroad, like silk from Italy, which also explains the prices (From 7000 € Caftan) and it is true that it is not accessible to everyone.

In recent years the prices have increased significantly from the beading, crystals also, all artisans have increased their prices.

This is sometimes the price to pay for quality.

For trends, as I said before, we use noble fabrics and we give them value thanks to the beading, rhinestones.

We also see thin belts (6 or 7 centimeters) reappear, especially in copper.

Pastel colors will also be in the spotlight this year.

We see more and more the Caftan "modernized" what do you think? Is the traditional Caftan in danger?

Indeed, the designers are inspired more and more by the European fashion but we must not forget the origin of the Caftan.

I think that traditional Moroccan women are not ready to wear this kind of Caftan (like the Caftan dress) to a wedding, it is the kind of Caftan created for specific customers.

I am not against modernization, on the contrary, but we must not forget the tradition, not exceed certain rules.

Are there any great designers that you particularly admire? 

I admire a lot the work of Elie Saab, it is a Lebanese who makes very beautiful things.

In Morocco, I have a lot of respect for the work of Abdelhanine Raouh, who is not only a great stylist but also a professor at "Collège Lasalle" in Casablanca.

This man has an uncommon inspiration.

What is the image of the woman you want to highlight?

For me the Caftan must represent the elegance of the woman, and the imperiality.

Moreover, one of the people who reflects this image of the woman is the princess Lalla Selma.

She is a very classy woman who represents well the Moroccan Caftan, she has just been designated by the readers of the British magazine Hello! the most elegant guest at the enthronement of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in late April.

Can you tell us why Moroccan fashion is seducing more and more people around the world?

It's a fad 😆 .

In the 1990s, the Caftan begins to disappear.

And it is precisely Lalla Selma who contributed to its revival, by wearing magnificent Caftans during various events throughout the world.

I also think that the internet and social networks have greatly helped the expansion of the Caftan around the world.

Do you work with other countries than Morocco?

Yes, I work with France, Algeria, Belgium, Germany, recently Turkey and the United States.

I would also like to work with the Gulf States.

I don't work with individuals, I like to know my clients.

What traditional fashion advice would you give to Caftan4you readers to dress with taste?

Respect the code of three colors, never more than three colors in a Caftan.

Let yourself be guided by people who know about it, there is a Moroccan expression that says "Eat according to your taste but dress according to the taste of others".

We must not stay stuck on certain ideas, get out of our bubble and open up to others.

Also, dress according to your skin tone, your skin color, for example a person with dark skin should prefer cold colors: white, yellow, an orange red, a color that will enhance them.

For those who are very white skinned avoid pastel colors, leaning instead for green, turquoise or red.

But it must be said that the Maghrebi women in general: everything goes to us ...

Thank you very much for your precious time, I wish you a lot of success in your career ...

As for you my readers, I hope you liked it, don't hesitate to send us your comments, See you soon

Ahlam