June 24th.
Amsterdam is hot right now, really freaking hot!
So I jump of the scooter & head to De Balie, the weirdly commercial [you can spot the tourists who have just stumbled across it!] but creative space [Bam, you see all the Macs spring up as people make their creative pitches!] in the heart of Amsterdam. It’s also one of the FEW places in Amsterdam, with free Wi-Fi, come on AMS, fix-up man!
As I head towards cooler temperature & solace, for a meeting with Wiam Khatib Alaoui, the Moroccan designer of the label Wi-Am, I bump into her as she’s smiles, serenely crossing the tram tracks, after just finishing her day job.
We grab a 6 O’clock wine, take a seat by the window & talk about what it was like to win the Music and Fashion Battle & her plans for the future.
What Experience did you have in fashion design, before you winning MAFB?
“Just business school, then I was a make-up artist & stylist. I actually did the make up for my show.
In my culture they always say you always have to do something in the high way, you know like a judge…but I said ‘No’, I wanted to do fashion, but they always blocked it.”
Who always blocked it?
“My parents blocked it. They wanted to see another side. Yeah so I did the things they wanted me to do, but it didn’t work out.
Before I did the show, my father was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know, well maybe you’re too late’ [to enter it]. But then when I got the confirmation & won the prize, he was like…’Oh’! & then he was taking things seriously!’
Are you known for doing crazy things?
“I don’t listen to anyone anymore! There are always people who say, ‘Maybe you can do it like this…it’s better’ & I take it with me. But because I have something in my head & I’m a designer, I’m going to do what I see in my mind. That’s what he saw…’You don’t listen so you won’t get any further’”
Is that typical of your culture?
“Yeah a little bit. & if you are someone who goes your own way, going out having fun & still not married, they have a negative way of looking at things & I’m always going the other side!
I always went out, before I really knew what I wanted to do. When I was busy with the designing & when it came out in reality, then I realized this is what I wanted to do, & then you don’t have the time anymore, because you’re working full time & you want to achieve something”
What did you learn from doing MAFB?
“What I learned is that you have to work really hard for the things you want & you really need to like it. A lot of patience. What I learned about myself was that I really have the patience & I have the power. If I like something to do, then I do it.
You need to know what you’re doing with the designs…I want to improve my communication. If somebody’s going to ask you things, you need to be able to explain it. Sometimes, for me its really hard…you know the interviews, the camera…all those kind of things. I’m not shy, but I want to be at the back, but you need to be in the front if you want to achieve something.
What are your ambitions?
“I want to design clothes that people feel good in & that I can always can work with the creativity that I have inside.
If I am just painting & doing something creative, I can sit there for hours, you really don’t feel like you’re working. That’s what I want to do.
The things that I made right now, is just a little of what I want to do. I want to work with Morocco; I want to give them support. They have some good artistic people there. What I really want to be is a good designer, so I can just go higher & higher & be at more fashion shows, because the kick that you get on that day is unbelievable. The whole day you’re working, working, working & then bang…It’s just wonderful!”
Do you feel responsible as a Moroccan woman to be a role model?
“No. A lot of people have already started in almost the same things, so no. What I don’t want to do is make the traditional dressed & make them very sexy & elegant, because it’s a traditional thing & I want to leave it that way.
It’s just I want to find my own original way in designing, in the modern things & make it a little bit Arabic. Not only in the material but also the stories. I don’t know if you’ve been to Marrakech, but it’s a place where you can see; this is really Morocco! The colours, the Mosaic, that’s why I want to go further, than just designing. I want to go into fabrics.”
Tell me about the story behind the collection.
“There wasn’t really a story. What I wanted to do is...like the dress with the hoodie. When I put it on I felt like Cinderella! When you put it on, you can feel like a fictional character! That’s what I want to give to women who are going to a party or anything.
If you are wearing a dress, it needs to fit well, but also it needs to be functional. What people say about Valentino dresses? They’re right. When women put those on, they feel like a feminine woman, something special. & I think in the Netherlands, if you just walk in the city, there’s nothing special, nothing that you would say…”wow!’”
Where do you take your inspiration from in Amsterdam?
“I’ve always had a love for fashion…but do I get something from Holland? No. There’s not something’s that touched me. No
I mix with a lot of Surinamese people & Polish people. Moroccan people are more my family, I don’t have a lot of Moroccan friends & a few Dutch. But with Surinamese, there’s a real click!”
Tell me about Amsterdam Fashion Week & the future
“Well, I think I will be doing some things backstage at the next fashion week. But MAFB & AIFW have organized a show called AIFW Downtown, & then I will be able to show 4 pieces of my collection. That will be in January 2010 so I have enough time to figure out some things. In July I want to go to Morocco to make [put in production] some things that I’ve already made. The plan is to really search for what I do in Morocco & bring it back with me.
The Urban style & collection…I really want to make a business. the baggy things & the hoodies,.. you can go on & on. that’s really a production. The classic line will be really exclusive, there will only be one or two pieces of it. I want to go further in the classic. There’s a lot of designs in one you can put 50 other ways to make it. That’s what I really want to go to Morocco, & try things.
I want to sell things online. I did some research on marketing & they said that this will be the new trend in the future.”
But don’t you think some people what to try it first?
“I’m someone that if I like something, I just do it, & then I will see. The few people who will doubt, I don’t worry about it. If you like something you like it! I’m not going to make a slogan to make people come to me. No!”
“Promotion is something that I want to do, a lot of fashion shows & magazines. I know that the price is high, but if there’s a way that I can do that, then great! For me that's big promotion. Then you will get the people.
I also have a Hyves page & I have a few hoodies on it, so now I have some reaction. It was just a try out, & it’s worked. You can also chose your own colour…people can make their own. At this point my father makes it. A good learning from the fashion show was how you need to work well & have a click with someone who’s going to make your stuff.
The hoodies are 80 euros. The jogging pant will probably be something like 150 euros…Eventually I want to go to France to look for better material.”
What is something that you want to say about the collection?
“Well it’s really me. People that know me they saw the collection they said that it was so me! You can mix everything & that’s what I wanted to do.”
There’s something that I would also like to add to this article. For all of the initial ‘blocking’ that seemed to come from Wiam’s family, in the whole journey from her applying & winner MAFB, they have been incredibly supportive. Her father worked into the early hours with Wiam to finish the collection & her mother, was typically proud, on stage with her daughter at the end of it all. That was the time that it looked as if the dream was really just beginning.
