Artsi Ifrach of Maison Artc Brings Worldly, Cultural Remix to London Fashion Week
LONDON — Designer Artsi Ifrach’s Maison Artc space in Marrakech in recent years has become a must-visit stop for highflying, fashion-forward visitors alongside Yves Saint Laurent’s Jardins Majorelle and the landmark square Jemaa el-Fnaa at the heart of the Medina old town.
Formerly tucked in an unassuming residential street, Maison Artc moved to a bigger and brighter space in 2023 showcasing Ifrach’s visual art and and one-off fashion creations made from vintage clothing and antiques.
More from WWD
The Dorchester Kicks Off a Busy Week of Fashion and Film With London Dinner
London Fashion Week to Open Public-facing Pop-up on Regent Street
A former ballet dancer, Ifrach started Maison Artc eight years ago. “I always love fashion, but more on the cultural aspect of it. It took me a long time to understand my universe and my DNA and agree to call myself a designer. A cultural designer, not necessarily a fashion designer,” Ifrach said.
The designer said his creations are meant to be emotional and inspiring and often involve worldly cultural references and traditional craftsmanship.
“We don’t need a big production. It’s 100 percent sustainable. Everything is made out of antique garments, not secondhand. People would be very surprised that it’s only women making the pieces. There is one on the embroidery, and the other doing the patterns. Then I do all the visuals,” Ifrach said.
Ifrach doesn’t consider Morocco a fashion destination. But the distance he keeps from the mainstream fashion industry helps him as an individual creator and helps raise the profile of Maison Artc.
”I don’t think we are a destination for fashion things, but I think it’s very interesting to see how we implement the culture through fashion and make it interesting for the people to come to see it,” Ifrach added.
According to Ifrach, the Maison Artc clientele is worldwide. “Our clients include art dealers, designers, and those who love being unique. Some of them I cannot disclose because I promised them privacy. We don’t use any celebrities to grow our visibility. They come to us because of the creativity behind each look,” he added.
Now the fashion world will be able to inspect Ifrach’s avant-grade vision up close.
Supported by the Moroccan National Tourist Office, Ifrach will show his latest collection “Celebration” alongside Maison Sara Chraibi on Monday as part of the official London Fashion Week calendar.
It will mark the first time Maison Artc will show during one of the big four global fashion weeks. Previously, the brand opened Uzbekistan Fashion Week and closed Madrid Fashion Week in 2023, and has shown in cities including Lagos and Addis Ababa.
But it won’t be Ifrach’s first contact with London.
After winning Fashion Trust Arabia in 2022, one of his designs — an oversize organza trenchcoat cum burka embroidered with the hand of Fatima, a symbol of good luck — was included in the “Africa Fashion” exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which later traveled to the Brooklyn Museum in the U.S.
Last year, Maison Artc launched an exclusive capsule collection for Harrods.
“I’m very excited to come to London this time. It’s super interesting to show what is the future and what fashion can be like in the coming years. We are in an interesting moment in fashion. We start to evolve in a new way, and we start to understand what’s the value of fashion through creativity and not product. Through this show, I want to show that we can implement culture, art, fashion and creativity in a way that we haven’t seen yet,” Ifrach added.
Best of WWD
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
