I am thrilled to share with you the installation by our Twist the Box creative in residence, Dorothee Catry, a Belgian milliner who works with silk flowers using traditional hand-colored techniques. Dorothee has been in Marrakech the last 10 days staying and working at Dar Kawa, conceptualizing out boutique’s window space as it transforms into a wonderous herbarium of silk flora.

Bringing with her a “nomadic dyeing kit” and a few tools from her floral workshop, Dorothee set up a studio on the rooftop of Dar Kawa. She immediately started looking for local plants that would become colorants to her own silky petals. From chamomile to henna, oak bark, hibiscus, and pomegranate skins, the discovery is always an intimate conference with the subject resulting in unique and vibrant colors.

During the dyeing process, Dorothee meticulously records the how the colors came to be. Silks are dyed with these colors and then are magically transformed into plant life freely inspired by local botanical forms. A new garden comes to life in the Medina!

What an exciting project and a great pleasure to have Dorothee with us in Marrakech by our Twist the Box creative in residence! The exhibit is up through the summer and is dedicated to our dear friend Franc’ Pairon, through whom we originally met during the lock down.

© Photos : Delphine Warin