Both personally and on the runway, Charaf Tajer translates his vision of male beauty through the luster of pearls, the glint of diamonds, and all the colors of a life at the top of the pistes and along the shores of the elegant Lake Garda.
The designer noted backstage that, on a recent trip, he had been impressed by the area’s difference and elegance. Meanwhile, his exuberant runway show was not just standing room only— throngs spilled out the ballroom door at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand Hotel.
Original prints made by a small in-house team—a member of which also walked in the show—showed dalmatians and vistas transposed onto silky, sometimes pleated shirts. Double-breasted suits with flared floods, shown on both men and women, were sharply cut and came in classic fabrics as well as windowpane checks or all-over motifs inspired by Tajer’s home base in Morocco. Outerwear, like a glossy trench and coats printed with interlocking C’s, or with embossing inspired by traditional tile motifs, showed considerable crossover appeal. The designer also confessed to a particular fondness for his ski wear (the skis were functional, too).
Tajer makes no secret of taking cues from women’s wear. “We need to bring beauty and love into menswear,” he offered. “I think there is too much irony everywhere. I think we should just go for it. The most important thing is to make the clothes wearable, push the boundaries and let men wear what they see on the runway. You can be feminine but very strong at the same time, it’s not a weakness.”
Given the number of ladies who have gravitated toward Casablanca, the designer has decided to push into women’s wear too, and is readying a women’s collection—“with a special partner”, he teased—to be unveiled in March.
