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Tangier: Creative and Design Hot Spot By Diane Dorrans Saeks. Photographs this page from the book Destinations: Jean-Louis Deniot, Rizzoli. Photography Anour Akrouh and Peter Rodger. L eading international interior designer/architect Jean-Louis Deniot lives in Paris and has been inspired by exuberant trips to Morocco for more than three decades. Fifteen years ago, he discovered Tangier. It was love at first sight of the crenellated, white-walled old town, lush gardens, and the splash of the blue Strait of Gibraltar in the sun-struck distance. With his longtime partner, William Holloway, Deniot soon acquired one of the most beautiful residences and garden estates on Old Mountain to the east of the old town. From his windows, he gazes across to the Spanish coast, with the Mediterranean to the east and the Atlantic to the west. Geographic paradise. Mesmerizing. Now Tangier has emerged as a white- hot artistic scene, with an exciting new generation of Tangier creative talents in the spotlight. Tangier's white walls are sparkling, the city has been painted and polished, and the 17th-century Kasbah has been restored, all with the blessing of King Mohammed VI and the royal family. "Tangier is a living culture, and I love today's vibe, energy," says Deniot, who is immersed in multiple nonprofit arts groups and fundraisers. "I admire this new appreciation of ancient traditions, Moroccan woven fabrics, classic fashions, handcrafted decor, rugs, and new art." It's a kaleidoscopic pivot, he says, with revered handcrafts reinterpreted with a kick of glam-rock and psychedelic colors — a Technicolor dream. "The very cosmopolitan new community of fashion designers, painters, artisans, and their studios, shops, and workshops are framed by the beauty of Tangier," he says. "They're renovating Art Deco residences and Portuguese palaces Jean-Louis Deniot's home in Tangier Jean-Louis Deniot in Tangier