The Moroccan fashion designer Albert Oiknine was born in Casablanca in 1970. He had grown up in craftsman family, His mother was a seamstress, and his father the owner of a haberdashery; will be his first source of inspiration, before earning his diploma in fashion design.

In the year 2000, he took his first steps in the spotlight by exhibiting his first five models during the great caftan parade in Morocco. His outfits, designed on the model of flared and transparent evening dresses, encrusted with lace, adorned with pearls and sequins, leave no one indifferent.

Since then, he has chained the editions of the caftan parade on the Haute Couture designer side and it is then the catwalks of the whole world that welcome him: Paris, Berlin, London, New York, Chicago, Warsaw, Prague, Madrid, Milan, Kuwait, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh.

Albert Oiknine's outfits have been worn by several renowned celebrities such as Aishwarya Rai, Noémie le Noir, Adriana Karembeu, Barbara Anelkka, Melita Toscan Du Plantier, and Myriam L'Aouffir Strauss-Khan.

The designer has also organized private shows for princesses from the Middle East or for international actors, such as Will Smith, or even made film costumes for Tom Hanks & Amira Casar.

Albert Oiknine honors the Moroccan caftan

Undoubtedly, Albert Oiknine militates in the select court of authentic haute couture, thanks to the beautiful caftans parading all over the world, making the pride of the Moroccan caftan and of those who are lucky and privileged to wear it. Occasionally in fashion shows, the audiences get amazed by his beautiful haute couture collection rich in color made in Morocco.

Albert Oiknine is one of the most fashionable Caftan Haute-Couture creators; the Albert Oiknine house "Chaba Couture" is located in Place Verdun, one of the oldest districts of Casablanca.

The haute couture kaftans-dresses are the quintessential signature of the Albert Oiknine house. Majestic drapes, fine hand-stitched embroidery, gold threads, ostrich feathers, callé lace and the finest fabrics reveal the creativity and uniqueness of each creation by Albert Oiknine.

It is nicknamed the alchemist of the caftan because, under its seams, the traditional costume appears in its entire splendor and takes on the appearance of haute couture dresses without losing any of its authenticity.

A Moroccan craftsman in the footsteps of the Silk Road

Proud of his roots and the thousand-year-old culture of his community, Oiknine is strongly attached to his native land, a motivation to undertaking this beautiful adventure of creating caftans using noble fabrics, while combining tradition and modernity.

He is inspired by the historical clothing traditions of Andalusia and northern Morocco in his creations. Thus, in his works, the shimmering Amazigh colors rub shoulders with an Andalusian tradition where the threads imported through the historic silk route invite the legends of Asia to Morocco.

Moreover, the stories of the Silk Road have always intrigued Albert, who admits to being “curious to know the circumstances of these long journeys” whose objective is to transport silk fabrics from one country to another. Experiences that he will try to live, among his countless travels, will never forget the chance he had to go to Azerbaijan, where he was able to come into contact with the still existing vestiges of these mystical journeys.

Installed in his family workshop for more than 20 years, Albert Oiknine travels the world to promote Moroccan know-how and the caftan, an essential element of the Moroccan wardrobe.

The fashion shows of Albert Oiknine organized in Morocco and France see the attendance of various eminent personalities from both shores of the Mediterranean. For him, the caftan takes on a glamorous, modern look, is worn like a haute couture dress and is exported to the four corners of the world.

The fashion designer seized the occasion of the Moroccan day in Washington to organize a fashion show on the 15th of July in which he had amazed the audience with his display of Moroccan Jewish and Amazigh fashion, highlighting the rich heritage and cultural mosaic of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Chic and practical, the caftan brought up to date

Moreover, his first step towards notoriety was the arrival in Morocco in the 90s of women's fashion magazines, which demanded caftans with a modern air, "not too beldi", breaking the boring and repetitive classic style predominant in the time. These new models were intended for a modern Moroccan woman, open to the world who dresses in modern caftans but who at the same time respect the classic canons.

The new models of caftans designed by a new generation of Moroccan designers were inspired by the new way of life of the post-Moudawana Moroccan woman, an active and emancipated woman who had her higher education at the foreigner and who aspired to play a leading role in a now urbanized Moroccan society which was beginning, little by little, to distance itself from traditional conceptions of fashion.

The new design of caftans proposed by this fashion artist and his generation, also targeted foreign women fascinated by the elegance, refinement, and comfort offered by this millennial outfit, assures the Moroccan stylist. Thus, he was able to take advantage of this growing interest expressed by women from diverse backgrounds and different social classes to offer this clientele caftans “with authenticity and history”, but at the same time practical and modern.