His work has been featured in renowned fashion magazines worldwide. Majid Karrouch is currently one of our international calling cards in the creative Industry. I sought him out in his studio, which is as extraordinary as the images he creates.
SCENE 1: #est meeting
A while ago, I made through Instagram for the first time with the exceptional work of a hidden Moroccan-Dutch fashion talent. Poetic stories that made me briefly dream away about a world I vaguely recognised from my own childhood in the Middle East.
A black-clad woman, constrictively but aesthetically beautifully bound. Her face tightly framed with hard dark lines. She looks straight at me, while flowers cover her vision. The picture is dazzlingly beautiful, but somewhere it also reminds me of the "chador" (hijab) of my childhood in Tehran.
Is beauty obstructed by the black frames of chador? Or is the black frame in this image actually a protective shell of that beauty? It's clear to me pretty quickly, Majid Karouch's fashion stories go beyond just a reinterpretation of trends. They are mysterious stories that quietly breathe a high level of social engagement. I want to know more about him to better understand the work.
I google it. But Google disappoints me. Only an article in the NRC, with the main topic being his socks. Out of frustration, I decide to take the plunge myself and investigate. Who is he, where does he come from, and what motivates him to illustrate these extraordinary stories?
SCENE 2 #Bakfiets
Ten past two. Full of excitement, I sit on a rocking chair around the corner from his studio, waiting. Waving from a huge cargo bike, he calls out:
'Sorry I'm late, I had to take care of some business quickly. It's chaos sometimes to keep all the balls up.'
'No problem. Do you have children then?'
'No, use my cargo bike to transport clothes to fashion assignments. Just dropping my stuff here at home. Afterwards, shall we go for a sandwich around the corner?'
'Yes, nice!'
We step into his studio flat. Curious, I look around. Immediately on the right, I see a large empty table. Next to it, a tall cabinet full of all kinds of fashion magazines.
"I live in a studio flat. At this table I make all the objects. Downstairs in the basement I have a storage room with my materials and I experiment there."
"Can I also see the basement?"
"Um yes why not, it's a bit difficult walking there though, but you can definitely come and see."
SCENE 3 #AtelierHouse
Via an awkward staircase, we continue to the basement. Once down, I cannot stand up straight, the space is about 1.5 metres high. A dark place, full of materials of all shapes and sizes, collected in storage bins from Hema.
"Don't mind the clutter. I have a kind of collecting habit. I use this stuff to design objects for the shoots."
Amazed, I look around, trying to imagine how so much beauty can be created from bins of worthless junk. Lost in thought, I climb the stairs again. A moment later, we are on the street and heading towards the neighbourhood café, just past the neighbourhood mosque.
SCENE 4 #LunchConversation
"No No I'm treating you. Do you also want something to eat, a sweet with your mint tea."
"Delicious, I'll have a piece of fig cake then. Tell some more about your roots, Majid."
"I was born and raised in Amsterdam. My parents belong to the first generation of guest workers. My father is a hardworking man who made night shifts in a chemical company. In those years when I was growing up, he was, due to his work routine, mostly an anonymous figure to me. I grew up with my brothers and sister under the care of my mother. A sweet strong woman who taught us many values.'
'We used to live in a white neighbourhood. When I was about 17, I volunteered every weekend at the old people's home around the corner. Playing games with the elderly, taking them outside, little things like that. Elderly people should be cherished. I got this conviction from the Berber culture.'
SCENE 5 #Autodidact
How and when did you start feeling interested in fashion?
'As a child, I was always fascinated by the vanity of my mother and my sister. Their beautiful headscarves and lavish jewellery. The cupboards were full of them. I could stare at that for hours. When I got a bit older, I started making jewellery myself. As I was looking for ways to display them, I entered the Elle Style Award. But I didn't even make it through the first round. Nevertheless, the photography student with whom I had taken the photos became impressed by my work and asked if I would like to join her projects more often. That's how I slowly rolled into the fashion profession as an autodidact.'
'More and more magazines in London, Japan and NYC are publishing my work. In the Netherlands, I often work with photographers such as Wendelien Daan, Philip Riches, and Desiree Dolron. I often come up with the concept, make the props and do the styling and art direction during the shoot.'
SCENE 6 #Inheritance
Those are big names in fashion you work with. What else are your ambitions?
'I hope one day to step out of the shadows with my own product. It could be a jewellery line, a coffee table book or my own small collection. My biggest dream of all is that people eventually see my work and say look this is a real Majid Karrouch.'
Why is being recognised for your artistic identity so important to you?
'My creative work is who I am. Art is a beauty what I leave to the world. It is my legacy.'
SCENE 7 #Vijgentaart
Our conversation is interrupted by a cute waitress, in a friendly flat Amsterdam accent she calls out: ''a fig cake and an egg sandwich'' "Please" 'Thank you dear'. We both take a bite of all the goodies now on the table and continue talking.
SCENE 8 #Baard
Tell me, what exactly is the story of that huge beard?
'Haha! The beard was created purely for extreme aesthetic reasons.'
Interesting. I am beginning to think that you are actually engaging in a kind of extreme aesthetic resistance to certain stigmas. A game of stereotyping. Am I right?
'True. In my work, I often use references to my Berber background. I am a born and bred Amsterdammer, but also find my roots beautiful. I want to share positivity and beauty with the world.'
SCENE 9 #Faith
'Not only Berber but also Dutch identity inspires me. I was sitting at home one day last Christmas, staring at the Christmas tree. Suddenly, a new idea popped into my imagination. Thus the series of baubles-inspired jewellery combined with Berber headgear was born. It is a surreal work in every sense. Christian tradition intertwined in one image with Islamic tradition.'
That says something somewhere about how all faiths actually have more or less the same values at their core.
'Right, my New Religion series is on this theme.'
SCENE 10 #hijab 2.0
Flowers, Dutch Design and the Berber Hijab, all in one image. Shapes that remind me of hijab, depicted in a way I have not seen before. Subtle and non-clichéd references to both Berber and Dutch identity. Experimental, unconventional, positive and with a sense of humour. What do you want to achieve with your work?
'In my concepts, I place traditions in a modern setting, giving them a new story. I draw a lot of inspiration from my childhood memories, for example what my mother and sister wore. As a child, I did not see their headscarves as covering them, but rather meant to adorn and protect their beauty. Moreover, for the modern Muslim woman today, the Hijab is a form of expression through which she colours her individual style and personality. I would like to explore and highlight these new stories.'
SCENE 11 #International
How are you doing abroad?
'In two weeks, I will fly to New York to do two exciting shoots. My goal is to eventually move to New York. My type of work is in high demand there.'
You call yourself a concept creator and fashion stylist on your website, but actually what you make is more than fashion. It dances on the border of fashion and art and metaphorically tells a story. You are an artist. Is it better to refer to you as a Fashion Artist introduce in the article?
'In the end, how we name something doesn't matter at all. It's about the content and the value of what you create!'
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