FOndée by Tangier Kenza Bennani, New Tangier aims to celebrate and revitalize traditional Moroccan crafts by instilling a contemporary touch. “New Tangier was born from a desire to reinvent Moroccan crafts, still too confined to the souk, and to change the eyes of Moroccans on our heritage”, explains the designer. The brand serves as a bridge between the ancestral know-how of local craftsmen and the modern design sensitivities, thus creating unique pieces. Kenza got her start at the Istituto Europeo Di Design in Madrid where she obtained a license in styling. Subsequently, the designer specializes in the creation of costumes for the film, theater and television industry in Morocco, Spain and the United Kingdom. It is precisely in London that Kenza puts down his suitcases, decides to take a break and focus on his personal projects. “I decided to work at Jimmy Choo as a saleswoman simply because I was talking about Arab”, tells us about the founder of New Tangier, before clarifying: “At the beginning, it was a purely“ food ”position. Except that I fell in love with leather goods and I ended up working for a year in the design studio for Jimmy Choo.” In 2008, the economic crisis occurred. Kenza then feels the need to evolve and decides to improve his achievements. “I went to Italy where I spent 6 months in a workshop that made parts for Chanel, but also Oscar de la Renta, in order to learn the techniques of manufacturing bags and shoes”remembers the designer.
Elegant and broken, the New Tangier silhouette is both traditional, sophisticated and feminine. “The woman who wears New Tangier is a free, independent and deeply contemporary woman”describes to designate it. In his creative process, Kenza is essentially inspired by Morocco and history. Thus, when she created her AFRA collection, Kenza held to “To explore southern cuts and understand our relationship to Africa, which is part of our history”she explains. Its ready-to-wear lines, with handmade finishes, have the ambition to enhance the functional aspect of Moroccan clothing. “Moroccan clothing is not only a festive garment, it is also functional”she recalls. The silhouettes and cuts put themselves at the service of the body. The ornamental and the decorative are discreet, while part of a lasting modernity. “I use exclusively natural materials ”, specifies Kenza. In 2024, the brand inaugurated a new store in the prestigious St Regis La Bahia Blanca, thus strengthening its presence in the luxury sector in Morocco.
A collection in homage in the cinema
The brand unveiled in February 2025 a collection in tribute to Moroccan cinema and Tangier. To represent this collection, Kenza called on Oumeima Baride (which we discovered in the film Animalia de Sofia Alaoui) as the muse of his brand. And always faithful to the spirit of New Tangier, Kenza continues to give pride of place to prodigious designs and noble materials giving life to clothes and accessories that become (almost) works of art. All these beautiful creations are revealed in the showroom, design studio and New Tangier workshop, mounted in 2019 in an Art Deco villa built in the 1930s. Mid-shop, half-museum, the place combines merchandising in a cultural mode worthy of a real contemporary art gallery.
