Jajjah by Hassan Hajjaj

Overview

Hassan Hajjaj was born in Larache and moved to London at twelve; today he lives and works between London and Marrakech. His staged portraits show friends and musicians in clothes he designs, framed in tin cans and consumer packaging, in a pop style that joins London's club and hip-hop scenes to his North African roots. His work is in the collections of the British Museum, the V&A and LACMA. Riad Yima, his boutique and gallery, is in the medina. Jajjah, founded with the tea maker Amine El Baroudi, sits in Sidi Ghanem, the city's creative and industrial district, and its name is his surname spelled backwards. Inside, bright yellow walls and emerald tiles surround customised tin cans. A café with a separate salon shares the space with a gallery for Moroccan and international artists, often emerging ones, whose modular layout changes with every show. The shop carries limited edition prints, clothing and accessories by Hajjaj and his Andy Wahloo label, next to Jajjah shirts and dishware. The kitchen, staffed mostly by women, cooks Moroccan street food with local ingredients for breakfast and lunch, and Friday means couscous. Jajjah began as a brand of Hajjaj's own blends, and the core range takes its names from the Gnawa music of Marouane Lbahja: MARHBA is green tea with mint and orange blossom, while ALLAL, sold as Hassan's Breakfast, adds chicory and black pepper. There is also a house coffee infused with star anise.