RIYADH: The designer, founder, and creative director of luxury clothing brand Casablanca has revealed the nuances behind establishing a legacy fashion house. Speaking to French Tunisian fashion commentator Osama Chabbi at the annual Hia Hub conference in Diriyah’s Jax District, in Riyadh, Charaf Tajer highlighted expansion plans for the French brand. Founded in 2018 as a menswear brand, Casablanca introduced women’s garments to its range in 2020. Born in Paris and of Moroccan descent, Tajer said: “I love to dream big, and I’d like to think that Casablanca can be the next big French fashion house.” FAST FACT The fashion industry’s recent return to craftsmanship, heritage, and the initial codes of luxury, has seen the Casablanca silk shirt became a product iconic to the brand. The fashion industry’s recent return to craftsmanship, heritage, and the initial codes of luxury, has seen the Casablanca silk shirt became a product iconic to the brand. With its fresh take on everyday casual wear, tethered to a bossa nova aesthetic, the brand aims to lead the way in innovating the sector’s view on modern luxury. “I think every big brand has an item that you can identify easily … not necessarily on purpose, but that was one of the most identifiable that stood out from the very first collection, probably the first item that I presented from the brand,” Tajer added. His Casablanca collection has been inspired by the multicultural aspects of the Moroccan city where his parents first met. Tajer said: “Myself, I’m a person with different layers … Casablanca has the Spanish name, it’s a Muslim country, it’s in Africa, it used to be a French colony. “All of these things and different layers of architecture and cultures … you can go from one street to another and have another experience and I feel like I can relate to this a lot.” He pointed out that the brand’s optimistic perspective of the world contrasted with the often-held opinion of artists being deep and complex individuals. Tajer noted that he took storytelling to adventurous lengths, attributing his inspiration to his travels, the nature of a given city, the individuals encountered, furniture he collected, and the beauty of the space he embodied. “The brand is the story of us exploring the world. I love looking at the world as a psychedelic experience because sometimes I stop and look at these places where I am and there are these tall buildings, and the sky is changing color. “The biggest motivator for me is how happy and positive it can be, but at the same time, how deep it can be,” he added. On inclusivity in the fashion industry, Tajer said there was always more that could be done in representing various ethnicities and backgrounds. “Visibility has never been in question for us, it’s just normal. Now, I think the next step is to have more people of color to be the decision makers, not only on the catwalk. The next step is ownership. “Every day I’m thinking of the same question: How am I going to change the world? How am I going to change the perception of the world on people of color?” Casablanca has had partnerships with brands such as New Balance and Bvlgari, and Tajer told Chabbi that the recipe to successful collaboration was savoir faire, in that the brand must have something to say. He pointed out that collaborations could become more prominent than the brand’s personal line, making the company itself less interesting. “Doubt is key. It’s a balance between 50 percent extreme doubt and 50 percent extreme confidence. If you find yourself in between this, you’re going to find the sweet spot somewhere,” he added. Also inspired by the Mexican culture in Los Angeles and the synthesization of underground culture, he said: “If you manage to synthesize your story enough — not dilute it but synthesize it — you can tell the story, and everyone will want to know your story. Create your visual vocabulary and present it to the world.”