Moro, Morocco’s chicest boutique

Next to the Jardin Majorelle and a five-minute walk from the Yves Saint Laurent Museum sits Moro, a boutique, café and hotel almost as beloved among design-oriented visitors and locals as its neighbours. Opened in 2020 by friends Mohcyn Bousfiha and Mouad Mohsine, the shop has drawn everyone from fashion designers Kim Jones and Michèle Lamy to actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson with its edit of hand-crocheted sun hats, silk kaftans, wine glasses made in the Atlas Mountains and colourful ceramics of Bousfiha’s own design.

Bousfiha and Mohsine first went into business together in 2016 with The Moroccans, a range of natural skincare made with prickly pear seed oil sourced from a farm they bought in coastal Essaouira. Four years later, they were approached by friends about taking over the ochre-coloured building where Moro now lives, then a hotel, as a retail space. “We weren’t looking for a project, but we saw that it had such beautiful potential,” says Bousfiha. With its distinctive rounded edges and soaring ceilings, “it reminded us of a 1970s-esque Melrose Place”. 

We weren’t looking for a project, but it had such beautiful potential

To reimagine the sprawling building and surrounding courtyards, they leveraged their training; Bousfiha as an interior architect and designer, Mohsine as an agricultural engineer. They planted smar plants, which grow by the nearby Ourika river, and papyrus plants to shade the terraces, and lined the walls with raw ivory-coloured plasterwork. The result, says Bousfiha, is a series of spaces that allow visitors to enjoy “different ambiences throughout the day”. 

Moro leather Babouches, €155

The Moroccans Neroli Gardens shampoo, €25

Of the fashion, a standout is the crochet collection, inspired by a woman Bousfiha spotted wearing one of her own designs as an abaya. The pair enlisted her, alongside a cooperative of women, who make djellabas (€550), cardigans (€320), hats (€88) and chemises (€280) in shades of burnt orange, cobalt and teal. Elsewhere, silk kimonos and wide-leg trousers (from €220) feature patterns hand-drawn by Bousfiha, while silk crepe versions feature prints of furniture, the art of Picasso, vases, YSL inspirations and, of course, Marrakech. One-of-a-kind pieces are made using vintage flea-market fabrics found on the partners’ travels (from €300). Mohsine points to the delicate 18ct-gold and freshwater pearl bracelets, statement rings and chains (from €280 to €1,250) made by Casablanca-based Hasnaa Bennani as among his favourite jewellery items. “They’re made in a poetic way that I love,” he says. Evil eyes, suns, moons, snakes and scarabs feature across furniture designs, alongside traditional babouche slippers and lambskin belts.

Customers come for the curation but mostly for the founder’s own creations. A patio is lined with shelves holding platters and pitchers that Bousfiha has decorated with colourful glazes (from €65 to €220). Inside, a wall of niche shelves displays The Moroccans beauty products: a Royal Saffron & Honey Mask (€65), Neroli shampoo (€25) and Mazhar extrait de parfum (€155).

The café, found on one of the terraces, is shaded by a Kiria, or Moroccan canvas. Moro’s chef sources locally and is known for her fresh-pressed strawberry juice, briouats (a kind of spring roll stuffed with shrimp, chicken or vegetables), chicken pastilla with almonds and honey, and an orange-blossom favoured flan. For full Moro immersion, there are 10 enormous hotel suites upstairs, furnished with Berber carpets in earth tones, some with terraces overlooking the cerulean and canary yellow tiles of the Jardin Majorelle. There’s also a pool in the central courtyard of the first floor where guests can escape the city’s hustle. “The best, for me, is when visitors linger,” says Bousfiha. He wants them to come away from Moro having had “a beautiful experience”.

Moro, Rue Yves St Laurent, Majorelle 40000, Morocco. moromarrakech.com