Morocco
Based between Casablanca and Berlin, designer Amine Bendriouich sums up his fashion sense in two words: “Couture and Bullshit.” Born in the mid-80s, Bendriouich draws inspiration from the aesthetics of his generation, fusing pop authenticity, androgyny, and urban aesthetics. After studying Fashion Design at Esmod Tunis and gaining experience by working on a number of fashion projects, the Moroccan designer launched his label, Amine Bendriouich Couture & Bullshit (ABCB), in 2008. He presented his collection at the Contemporary Moroccan Roots festival, a cultural event founded by Bendriouich, which features street and visual arts, experimental music, and fashion performances.
Working in his atelier in Casablanca, Bendriouich designs his unisex collections on spontaneous themes—the quintessentially Moroccan brand doesn’t follow seasons or trends. He has participated in a number of international fashion events, including London Fashion Week, and collaborated with renowned international artists, such as London-based Hassan Hajjaj, American painter Kehinde Wiley, and musicians Keziah Jones and Massive Attack.
1. What does the Style.com/Arabia – DDFC Fashion Prize mean to you?
Another step, a big one, in my journey; an exciting chapter on building my own legend.
2. What message are you trying to convey with your designs?
I want to contribute in defining our new identity and culture through my work and put a new business model out there for the youth, showing that coming from an Arab or African country, you can make it out there just with the power of your dreams and beliefs.
3. Why do you think that you are best-suited to win the Fashion Prize?
I have very strong roots in the Arab culture and all the cultural influences from my country, Morocco: Arab, Berber, Tuareg, and African. I’m also growing leaves all over the world: Berlin, London, Paris, and L.A. All of my artistic collaborations have allowed me to build a strong network—musicians, DJs, artists, painters, photographers, actors/actresses, and directors—that gives my work visibility regionally and internationally, and the support to be more creative and productive. I can be a fresh, different, strong, and stereotype-free ambassador for Arab fashion, culture, and its contemporary identity.
4. Which designer most inspires you?
God, nature, the universe—you can’t do better and they inspire us all. The careers I love are those of Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto, Azzedine Alaïa, and Yves Saint Laurent.
