Ever thought you could up sticks and start again? Randall and Nicholas did just that, moving from New York City to Marrakech. Randall, a fashion photographer, and Nicholas, who worked within the music industry, were inspired by the light, pace and energy of the ancient city and took the plunge, opening their atelier Marrakshi Life in 2013.
The concept was simple, to make hand-loomed, traditional garments, that were unisex and carried a more modern, Western silhouette, versus an ethnic one. Slowly they built their brand, with an airy studio space lit by diagonal strip lights (a nod to NYC warehouse apartments from a past life). It houses a show room, where rows of elegant kaftans, trousers, shorts and quilts hang in colour schemes. An in-house team of local Marrakech artisans work on foot-powered looms, to weave ten meters of fabric a day, and dye, weave, design, cut and sew the garments. Even the looms are hand made in the atelier, pieced together from the looms of ancient weavers and then new wooden parts to improve their functionality, Each one is made to order, to ensure that there is little waste as possible, from Egyptian cotton (cotton does not grow in Morocco), and takes fourteen days to get to you, once ordered. This ‘slow’ approach is an important part of the their ethos, and allows Nicholas and Randall to create a beautiful, bespoke range of garments that you can not find elsewhere.
“The idea was to not pollute the universe with product, we are made to order so we don’t produce inventory, we only make what our customer asks for.”
Was there a lightening moment when you realised it was your calling to start Marrakshi life?
Nicholas: I first came to Marrakech on holiday in 2011 for ten days and that’s when my curiosity peaked. The light, pace, energy, the love of craftsmanship and the feeling that you could create anything really spoke to me. At that moment, life felt very different for me in NY. I didn’t feel this possibility for something new, like I’d felt in Marrakech. The decision to move was pretty spontaneous. I came in May 2013 for a trial three month period and to see how it would go. From there, the story was pretty organic, and the concept naturally grew to what it is today.
What was your initial vision for the brand?
Our vision was always to make hand loomed unisex garments – today we offer the same vision but perhaps a bit more fashion forward, dynamic and colourful, while remaining comfortable.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Our inspiration comes from a lifestyle and really making clothes that cater to this lifestyle of urban comfort, something casual with a flare yet always for both men and women / love this challenge of blurring the lines between what is considered masculine and feminine in ones wardrobe. We really listen to our clients and see what they are responding to and bringing them more options. We have grown from 3 to 75 employees in the past 10 years, it has really been an unimaginable evolution, I never imagined that we would come this far.
Your story has an emphasis on slow fashion – do you think this was a reaction to having worked in NY?
Absolutely, the idea was to not pollute the universe with product, we are made to order so we don’t produce inventory, we only make what our customer asks for. We are not forced to invest in inventory but rather we listen to our clients and only make the pieces they are ordering – a laboratory of sorts.
What are some of the most surprising elements of your creative process?
That everything takes time when you are working by hand and humans, so we must take this into consideration no matter what venture we choose to embark on creatively.
