I Miss the Internet!

I am living a land that is always loading, buffering or apologetic for its failing to upload! Its strange how much I now rely on the web to keep my work up to speed with my day. I'm sure that I'm going to have difficulty with this post but if you are reading it, it means I finally got there in the end!

This is just one other way of life that I am getting used to. Over the last few days I have been looking high and low around Casablanca to find fabrics for my collection. With the help Joseph Ouechen, who has been showing me the ropes of the city, I have been able to find some amazing places. Firstly being the markets deep in the Medina, tourists are uncommon here so it was a real privilege to be able to visit and witness the comings and goings of its residents. Down small streets lined with old, hand powered, singer sewing machines which were all operated by women sewing traditional clothing. I couldn't help but feel as though I was slightly encroaching on their territory as this is their life and their own bubble of civilization. The fabrics in the main market are sold in small pieces which are mainly the remnants from textile manufacturers. The entire surface of the street is covered in fabrics which makes it difficult to distinguish between stalls but, you are soon made fully aware of the owner if you hover too long around their goods. Some of them definitely care about their stall more than others as the fabrics are either perfectly folded and colour coordinated where others are just huge piles of fabric that are thrown in all directions. There are men in the market who hand spin rope in all different colours and thickness's which is then sold as intricate decoration. They have a special machine for doing good this which looks a little like a pasta machine. It wasn't appropriate to take photos of this area so you will have to take my work for it that it was amazing! Joseph did manage to sneak one in as we were walking though...

The sheer amount of fabric shops and the options that comes with that puts Shepard's Bush, Berwick St and the Birmingham Rag market to complete shame. The only difference is that there is no way you will find any neoprene or rip stop knocking about in the backstreet's of Casablanca's Medina's.  I have to say its a lot to take in all at once but as soon as you settle into it, it gets better! I'ts the first time that I have ever been fabric shopping and felt confident that I will be able to find everything that I'll need. Pretty much all fabric is sold in 2-2.5 metre lengths which is difficult to get your head around while working to a budget in an unfamiliar currency. This is because most people out here by fabric to make Jiliaba's which is a traditional style of  full length dress that would need this length to make. When you start to realise the equivalent cost in sterling it is always a happy moment as everything is a lot more cost effective to what I know. If only I could have sourced fabrics from here for my Graduate collection, the £5,500 of debt that I'm in for it may have been a lot less at this point!!

So after my first few days sourcing ^^^ this is what I have come up with ^^^ Its very feminine for me which came as quite a shock, I have never worked with a floral before. There is still so much to see and do before I make my final choices but I have belief that this is the right way to go. I've been trying to trust my instincts more and have the confidence to go all in on a decision but, this is made much easier here by the average price and knowing I can afford to make mistakes. 

The aim of  my collection is to incorporate traditional Moroccan craft in contemporary ways. I have chosen to work with metal and I hope to work with artisans in Fez. My vision is to  commission enlarged Moroccan pendants that I will sew into the garments. During the fabric sourcing I was also able , through Joseph, to find out about how the artisans work and rough ideas for price size and  quality. I want to share a few of my findings which are the pictures below...