DUBAI: US actress Tessa Thompson showed off a psychedelic dress by French-Moroccan label Casablanca while doing press for her latest movie, “Passing.” The actress met journalists in a figure-hugging dress by the label of the moment, complete with checkered card suits running across the length of the outfit. The look hailed from the brand’s Fall/Winter 2021 ready-to-wear collection titled Grand Prix. The line took inspiration from the glamorous city of Monaco, from its Formula One races to its high rolling nightlife, and features a cohort of vibrant colors with diamond patterns, pussybow blouses and power suits galore. Thompson donned the look to promote her latest film, which has already received rave reviews after premiering on Netflix in November. In the film, two former childhood friends reconnect as adults in 1920s New York. Both are able to pass as white women in a city split by racism, but while Irene (Thompson) lives in Harlem with her black husband, she is shocked to learn that Clare (played by Ruth Negga) has climbed the societal ladder and married a white man — played by Alexander Skarsgard, who is given the unpleasant task of playing an overtly racist, intensely unlikeable man with no clue as to his wife’s heritage. Despite Irene’s misgivings, the two women begin to reconnect, with Clare worming her way into Irene’s circle of friends and, increasingly, her family. While speaking to members of the press about the film, Thompson shone in her daytime-appropriate look by Casablanca, which was chosen by Hollywood stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald. The brand, which has found celebrity fans in the likes of British pop star Dua Lipa, was founded by Charaf Tajer. The Paris-based label is known for its ultra-wearable clothing made out of luxe silks and cashmeres that is inspired by Tajer’s Moroccan roots. His debut runway during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in 2018 was a love letter to his parents who met while working side by side in a clothing atelier in the fashion district of Casablanca. In March, the latest edition of a collaboration between Casablanca x New Balance was released to fanfare online — in fact it sold-out online within minutes Drop III came in two silhouettes. The 327 boasts an octopus-like outsole that extends up the shoe and an interlocking Moroccan tile print that stays true to the French-Moroccan designer’s North African roots.