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By Diane Dorrans Saeks M arrakech — with its lively medina, rich craft culture, vivid heritage, and color-spectrum approach to design — has always been the style center of Morocco. Now a new wave of creativity is rocking the kasbah, and top international designers are taking note. With its voluptuous exoticism and exuberant deployment of artistry, Marrakech is enjoying an exciting surge of style. Chic new riad hotels include Jasper Conran's L'Hôtel Marrakech with its updated classic Moroccan interiors and El Fenn, with an inspiring injection of color and Marrakech crafts; both are the result of this vivid, freewheeling approach to romantic interiors. New York artist and designer Madeline Weinrib has loved Marrakech style since she first discovered Berber rugs and handcrafted textiles there. She works with top kasbah craft studios and art ateliers, surrounded by romantic 12th-century ramparts. With traditional Moroccan specialists and workshops deep in the oleander-scented souks of the old medina, she conjures design products for the El Fenn hotel boutique and guest rooms and collaborates with museums around the world such as New York's Neue Galerie, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Parrish Art Museum. She has also served as creative director of the Heirloom Project, working with the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. We sat down with Weinrib to discover her passion-point studios and galleries. Madeline Weinrib's Design Stops "The quality and range of traditional arts and crafts perfected and practiced in the medina studios in Marrakech is truly impressive," Weinrib says. "Among my favorites are fine textiles, exquisite marquetry, carpet weaving, embroidery, intricate copper and brass work, mother-of-pearl inlay, leather tooling with gold embossing, brass lanterns, custom embroidered caftans, and leather slippers. I know most of the top ateliers, but I love to wander in the twisting lanes of the souks to discover more." She has worked in Marrakech for so many "I first started designing Berber rugs in Marrakech more than 30 years ago. The craftsmanship and artistry in Morocco are dazzling. I love working with crafts families who use techniques and know-how developed over many generations. The quality of materials and exquisite designs are always exciting." — Madeline Weinrib A room at El Fenn, Marrakech 66