Amine Bendriouich is one of Morocco’s most prominent fashion designers and a key player in the cultural scene in Morocco. Born in Marrakech in the mid-1980s, he studied fashion design at the École supérieure des arts et techniques de la mode (ESMOD), Tunisia, before moving to Casablanca in 2007. He started selling T-shirts at the Boulevard Festival and attracted attention with a satirical design which featured the word hmar (jackass). The following week he was invited to show at FestiMode, Casablanca Fashion Week, and established his label Amine Bendriouich: Couture & Bullshit (AB-CB) shortly after in 2008. Bendriouich often collaborates with other creatives including photographer and designer Hassan Hajjaj and painter Kehinde Wiley.
Bendriouich describes his creations as ‘A uniform for non-conformists’ who do not ‘follow trends of season. AB-CB believes in rock & roll – the music, courage and urban hero’.

This dress comes from Bendriouich’s 2020 Djellaba & Tricks collection which focused on reinterpreting traditional Marrakchi djellabas, with their characteristic large volume and loose fit, for the contemporary moment. The designs introduce new codes from different elements of contemporary design, from the trench coat to the shirt. All the designs were produced in linen or silk, with material sourced from a vintage textile dealer with holdings from textile manufacturer Abraham Ltd, Zurich, best known for producing silk for haute couture clients in the mid-twentieth century. The embroidery was done by artisans in the medina of Marrakesh.

The djellaba dress is made of a delicate white striped silk with a blue ombré front and cuffs. The ground fabric is decorated with stripes of gold thread, referencing 18th-century Moroccan embroidery techniques. The silk itself is diaphanous, with Bendriouich deliberately playing with ideas of modesty and concealment. In the campaign photography, for example, Bendriouich styled the dress with a pair of neon yellow speedos which can be seen through the silk. The buttons were sourced from Vatican City, again gently referencing the global conversation of fashion production.