The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
HOW MARRAKECH BECAME THE DARLING OF THE IN-CROWD
Paula Hardy mentioned that the opening of the 1-54 Art Fair at La Mamounia in Marrakech was incontrovertible proof to the world that Morocco had finally returned to form. But, really, it was much more – it was a confirmation that the country’s capital had finally reached the cultural zenith it has long been striving for.
For starters, the Art Fair was attended by an audience worthy of the Met Gala. VIPs swanned through the gardens of the 101-year-old grande dame hotel, dressed in brightly coloured kaftans, into a pavilion showcasing what’s new in contemporary African art, to network and buy, but mostly just be.
The night before, actor and model Marisa Berenson hosted a party at her opulent riad, where a DJ in a tuxedo played disco as invited friends milled around their fabulous turban-clad host. Was it Marisa – star of Barry Lyndon and Cabaret; attendee of Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball in 1966, in a dress made for her by Halston; resident of the city for more than 10 years – who gave Marrakech its renaissance? She is certainly a part of it, and sits at the core of a scene of people who love to hang out by the pool and then eat black miso cod at Jean Georges at La Mamounia (mamounia.com). She is the unofficial
Mark C O’Flaherty mayor of Marrakech, and recently started making her own jewellery, which sells in the boutique of Vanessa Branson’s El Fenn (el-fenn.com) where, upstairs, monthly Sunday evening parties take over the roof, and wipe out Monday mornings.
Also a key player in the scene is London/Paris vintage curator and dealer Carmen Haid, who moved there two years ago and relaunched her Atelier Mayer vintage store (atelier-mayer.com), refocusing on Moroccan crafts and interiors.
She has also transformed an event and gallery space at the Mandarin Oriental (mandarinoriental.com) into an ongoing black-and-white Instagram story.
For years, Marrakech was mostly about shopping for rugs and fancy slippers. Now there is high fashion at Moro, which also has a gorgeous courtyard café (moromarrakech.com) and Marrakshi Life (marrakshilife. com), run out of a giant white warehouse in the industrial quarter by two American photographers. They make genderless oversized garments in bright stripes (but also all-black) that have attracted the attention of numerous visiting megastar designers. Poke your head back into the atelier, and you will see their team weaving each piece to order.
After a few days in this cliquey North African fashion village, you will see the same faces repeatedly – particularly if you are staying at Maison Brummell Majorelle (maisonbrummellmajorelle. brummellprojects.com), a radiant rose-coloured home-like property next to the eponymous Gardens linked to Saint Laurent. With its polished plaster walls and garden pool, it will soon convince you that this is how you would live in the city full-time if you had the money.
But there is more to come. When it opens, Riad Romeo (@riadromeo on Instagram) will be the talk of the Medina, and the fashion world. The building has undergone four years of rebuilding and decoration, under the supervision of Romeo Gigli, one of the most celebrated designers of the 1980s and 1990s. He moved from Milan to Marrakech five years ago and has been omnipresent at parties wearing his own design of drop crotch trousers, made locally. They will, of course, be on sale in the on-site boutique.