Maison Sara Chraibi and Maison Artc send love letters to Morocco at London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week is done and dusted. There was all the usual madness one expects from what is the smallest of the major fashion weeks, but also one of the loudest. One brave soul wore an actual suit of armour to attend the Burberry show, a feat that raises so many questions: how did he get there and how on Earth did he sit down? On the more serious side of things, two Moroccan designers offered personal love letters to their homeland. Maison Sara Chraibi and Maison Artc, presented by the Morocco Kingdom of Light initiative that promotes the country's evolving fashion industry, both sent collections down the runway in the British capital. Designer and artist Artsi Ifrach is the talent behind Maison Artc, a label that blends traditional North African fabrics and garments with art photography. With a motto of “we move culture”, social media darling Ifrach presented a show titled Coming Home that was a weirdly beguiling mix of clashing vintage fabric. Akin to the mix-and-match styling of Valentino's Alessandro Michele, Ifrach combined antique lace with beanie hats, mouzoun (traditional Berber sequins, thought to ward off the evil eye) with vintage velvet fedoras, and a floor-length embroidered smoking jacket with a skirt/coat made from what could have been a Japanese kimono. Told via fragments, the references came layered one on top of the next: from Ancient Egypt, via an earth-coloured dress covered with an appliqué figure, worn under a fragile loose-spun cape; to the Banjara tribespeople of India, from whom a traditional embroidered panel was stitched to the torso of a golden brocade dress; to a striped Berber tunic repurposed with “Mashallah” embroidered across the chest. A traditional Egyptian Assiut scarf was transformed into a men's sheer top and worn with cream trousers, while elsewhere metres of black taffeta became a men's flowing cape – with a sign reading Marrakesh worn as a necklace. Thrifted from stores and hand-assembled in Marrakesh, this collection felt very personal and it was easy to see the care and vision used to bring the disparate elements together. As with all Ifrach's work, it leant strongly towards a theatricality that London, of all cities, will fully embrace. Sara Chraibi is no stranger to delivering high-pressure shows, as a member of the Federation de la Haute Couture. Her work featured at Dubai Fashion Week almost exactly a year ago. In London, Chraibi unveiled her latest couture collection, called The Heavens . Inspired by the very air around us, Chraibi drew on elements such as fluffy white clouds on a summer day – seen across a cape and a flowing kaftan – and the dense dark of the night, via figure-hugging midnight blue velvet, and even the twinkle of stars, as light-as-air silvery metallics and crystals stuck to the models' skin. With one foot in North Africa and one in Europe, Chraibi is adept at mixing modern evening attire with traditionally modest wear, blurring where one ends and the other begins. The real point she makes, of course, is that there is no difference and long, roomy garments are both practical and chic, wherever you may be. Under Chraibi's sure hand these looks were elegant and beguiling, sweeping past as a tailored top coat, sheer to the waist, in translucent cream organza and worn with a floor-length white silk skirt, or another sheer top layer, cut to hang in shredded twists from the waist of a pale dress. Some dresses had giant petals sitting high around the neck and face, while others were loose and decorated with lines of beading that flowed to the floor. A deft mix of North African cuts – the loose, airy kaftan shapes and flowing top coats – and European sensibilities that arrived as fine-spun metallic fabrics that gleamed luxuriously, this show displayed why Chraibi is deserving of her haute couture status. Able to make the most noble of fabrics wearable, and elevate simple cuts to extraordinary new heights, Chraibi is a designer who speaks to a wide and adoring audience.

Maison Sara Chraibi and Maison Artc send love letters to Morocco at London Fashion Week

North African designers both showed beautiful collections as part of the autumn/winter 2025 cycle