Manila is ready for Fatim-Zahra Ettalbi
When I think of caftans, I think of luxurious resort getaways. In the city, I associate the long, languid Moroccan dress with glamorous women of leisure. While to the wearer it is easy to slip into, there’s something about a caftan that makes a bold statement to the beholder.
“It makes a woman so comfortable that she can express herself without worrying what anyone else thinks about what she’s wearing,” says Fatim-Zahra Ettalbi, the fashion designer behind Zaïn, a three-year-old ready-to-wear brand that debuted its 25-piece collection “Footprint in the Desert” during Rustan’s Moroccan Festival.
Even in Fatim’s hometown Marrakech, its “comfort zone,” as she would describe it, remains of weddings, heavily adorned with pearls and traditional handmade embroidery of silk threads called
sfifa. She has been sketching these kinds of caftans since she was seven, visualizing on paper her mother and aunts’ long, detailed chats about their customizations.
She moved to Paris to study and went on to work with designer Christian Lacroix. And then she got “too comfortable” and left fashion. She got into the male-dominated construction industry in Dubai and, seven years ago, founded her giftware distribution company. It wasn’t until three years ago that she found her way back.
Fatim shares the story of many female entrepreneurs in Morocco. “It is not highly regarded. When you announce that you became an entrepreneur, the response you’ll get is, ‘Okay, but when are you getting a proper job?’ Moroccan women work, but they only become assistants so they have time for their kids and husband. Taking risks and traveling a lot is not the usual lifestyle, but it is mine,” she shares. “The feeling I was never aware of was the chronic loneliness linked to my job as an entrepreneur.”
Fatim entered a mentoring program for women empowerment with the World Bank, and was assigned to train women in rural areas of Morocco. “It was here that I met those who would later on become my artisans. The voice of that seven-year-old girl came out; I thought, ‘Why don’t I join my two passions together?’ Women empowerment and fashion.”
“I dreamed of it as a brand to support the lives of the skilled woman artisans who actually work on each collection but also participate in saving the Moroccan tradition of craftsmanship from disappearing because we’ve seen it happen in our neighboring countries. We’re known for our food and architecture but not our fashion,” says Fatim.
She now employs 15 female artisans. “My second mission is to amplify the lifestyle not only of the Moroccan women but also those who are socially conscious and think of the impact of their decisions. The third is to get the caftan into the daily life of women and make it contemporary for the women of now. The Moroccan woman is very dynamic and active. The new generation wants to make decisions for herself and it’s the same for women all around the world, too.”
Zaïn started out with resort wear and then expanded into bohemian cocktail dresses and now, an effortlessly chic and unabashedly feminine take on office wear in silk and crepe for dresses and jumpsuits and velvet for jackets.
“I like fluidity,” she explains. All embroidery is completed using a special handmade technique. “A must-have in any Moroccan attire is sfifa. For one Zaïn piece, you need three women, rolling the silk with a special technique. We also made real buttons using silk threads.”
Zaïn went international when it became the first Moroccan fashion brand to be in a Duty Free shop. It was also through Duty Free that she met Rustan’s Zenaida Tantoco. “Immediately, we had a connection,” shares Fatim. The chairman of Rustan’s Commercial Corporation figured it was a good fit for Rustan’s Moroccan fest. With a nearly sold-out pop-up over the weekend, Rustan’s is right on the money — Manila is ready.
*** Zaïn is available in Rustan’s until the end of the Rustan’s Moroccan Festival on Aug. 31.