Mohamed Benchellal is a Dutch-Moroccan fashion designer, couturier, and founder of the womenswear label; Benchellal. His work is characterized by voluminous silhouettes and sculptural cuts. Playing with the concept of complementary opposites, his designs are both classical and contemporary, whimsical yet precise, lavish yet monochrome and glamorous yet sustainable. 

 

Mohamed Benchellal was born in the Netherlands to Moroccan parents; who immigrated to the Netherlands in the late sixties. His fascination with fashion began at a young age, as he was often surrounded by fabric and the sounds of industrial sewing machines, within the textile workplace of his grandparent’s home. His upbringing instilled a hard- working do-it-yourself approach to life. He soon began experimenting himself, taking apart his clothes and reconstructing them into new creations. Benchellal went on to study Fashion in Amsterdam from 2002-2007. In 2015, he launched his first collection under his name sake brand; Benchellal. 

 

In 2020 Benchellal won the Vogue Fashion Prize, which gained him international exposure. The world renowned jury included: Her Highness Princess Noura bint Faisal Al Saud, Livia Firth, Angelica Cheung, Farida Khelfa, Amina Muaddi and Jean Paul Gautier, who described Benchellal as “knowing how to do it” with his work and use of fabric as “very couture, very beautiful.”

The collection which followed, was the first in which the designer makes reference to his North African heritage, through the use of colour and a reinterpretation of the traditional Moroccan caftan. 

 

In 2021 Benchellal launched his first ready to wear collection on luxury online retailer Net-A-Porter’s sustainable section; Net-Sustain. Within the same year, Benchellal won the evening wear category of Fashion Trust Arabia. Judges (included Virgil Abloh, Pier Paolo Picciolo, Haider Ackermann, Carine Roitfeld, Elie Saab, Alexa Chung and Natalia Vodianova) commended him for his sustainable process and the inclusivity of his one size dresses.

 

At first, Benchellal’s sustainable approach was born from necessity. With a limited budget, he worked with deadstock materials purchased at inexpensive local markets and used self-taught cutting techniques to maximize the use of these leftover fabrics. This paved the way for his motto for design; that the amount of available material dictates the outcome. His atelier continues to work consciously on a small and local scale, with an extensive international reach. Benchellal’s unconventional methods extend further still, as his designs are not bound to seasons or trends. To date, the label has not done any official fashion shows nor paid advertising. Instead, his media exposure has been solely generated by the support of world renowned magazine editors and stylists from Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, L’Officiel, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Tatler, Numéro, and more. Benchellal aims to create works of art which portray women in an iconic way, with no distinction of size or age. This was celebrated by dressing Iris Apfel for her 100th birthday. The list of high profile, public figures who have been dressed by Benchellal includes; Her majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain, Her Royal Highness Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdelaziz of Saudi Arabia, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Al Thani, Sharon Stone, Kelly Rowland, Billy Porter, Alicia Keys, Natalia Vodianova, Drew Barrymore, Rossy de Palma, Priyanka Chopra, Paula Abdul, Helena Christensen, Petra Nemcova, Camila Cabello and many more. 

 

In 2022 Benchellal got invited by supermodel Naomi Campbell to take part in the EMERGE Initiative fashion show in Doha, Qatar to show his designs on the runway. Later that year he also got invited by Carine Roitfeld to take part in the CR Runway fashion show. 

 

 

International Awards 

2020 – VOGUE Fashion Prize / 1st Prize

2021 – Fashion Trust Arabia / Evening wear winner

2022 – Emi Gala / Fashion Innovator of the Year

2022 – African Fashion Awards / Outstanding Achievement Award

2022 – Business of Fashion “The BoF 500” / The most influential people shaping the global fashion industry 

2023 – Cultuur Fonds Mode Stipendium / Dutch talented fashion designer who excel in artistic quality.