Funky Fahd Will See You Now
The best store in Marrakech has no website, no address, and no plans to change that.
- By Oury Sene
There are cities you visit. And there are cities you’re quietly introduced to. Through people, through instinct, through doors that never appear on itineraries.
Marrakech belongs to the second kind.
Beyond the well-trodden paths and postcard corners, there’s a different current running through the city. It only shows itself if you move with curiosity rather than instruction. And in that quieter layer of the medina sits Funky Cool Medina: a space that functions less like a store and more like a living landmark for those already in the know.
At its center is Fahd Al Marsaoui. People call him Funky Fahd.
He was born and raised in Marrakech, and he doesn’t talk about the city the way designers usually do. Not as a mood board, a reference point. For him it’s more foundational than that.
“I was born and raised in Marrakech, a city that’s always been my inspiration,” he says. Simple enough. But the way he means it is closer to: this is where I learned to see.
His path into fashion didn’t start in any formal sense. It started in the souks, in flea markets, in the kind of looking that happens before you have the vocabulary for what you’re drawn to. He built his eye on contrast, imperfection, things other people passed over.
As a teenager, he started altering what he found, out of necessity as much as curiosity. He was mixing traditional Moroccan textures with a more urban style because that’s what the situation called for. Reshaping vintage garments, painting jackets, reworking kaftans into something sharper, more personal. What began as messing around eventually became a language.
“I customized vintage finds, painted jackets, and reworked kaftans into something more fresh,” he recalls.
That instinct eventually became Funky Cool Medina.
“I wanted to create a physical space that reflected Marrakech’s new creative energy. A place where locals, travelers, and artists could connect through fashion that tells a story,” he explains.
The result is hard to pin down. Some days it operates as a studio. Other days it’s more gallery than anything. Most of the time it’s a gathering point. People coming through, trying things on, staying longer than they planned. Clothes aren’t behind glass here. They get worn, debated, adjusted on the spot.
“It’s not just a shop; it’s a vibe, a gallery… and quite often, if you watch our Instagram stories, it turns into a dance party,” he says. That tracks.
The aesthetic is its own thing. Bohemian souk textures next to 80s street references. Couture fragments alongside raw, hand-altered textiles. Every piece is one of one. Nothing is duplicated, nothing is standardized.
Many of the materials come from the mountains surrounding Marrakech, where textiles are still handwoven by local tribes. They get reworked through embroidery, patchwork, paint. Extended rather than replaced.
The striped coats are probably the most recognizable pieces. They’ve been circulating quietly online for a while now, crafted from vintage blankets, lined with silk. But Fahd doesn’t start with a sketch. He starts with the fabric.
“I sit with each piece first, before pairing the colors and deciding on the shape or length,” he explains. The design comes from the material, not the other way around.
Inspiration works the same way for him. It’s not structured. It comes from travel, from music, from street culture, from Marrakech itself. A city that never stops throwing color and contradiction at you all at once.
“Marrakech is pure energy. The colors, the chaos, the tradition mixed with modern art. It’s all inspiration,” he says. “It’s impossible not to feel alive when you walk through the medina.”
Customers become part of it too. Pieces get adjusted and reshaped on site. It’s clothing as conversation.
“Every piece has local soul with global attitude.”
For now, the space stays deliberately unlisted. You find it through word of mouth, through someone who’s already been. Not touristy, just real. That’s by design.
But even Fahd knows that can only hold for so long. A website is coming. Not because he wants to scale, but because the demand showed up on its own.
“We have an inbox full of requests for a website,” he admits. “So we are planning this in the future, inshallah.”
Until then, Funky Cool Medina stays what it’s always been. The place you hear about once you’re ready to see it.
