The story behind our Morocco collection - pure by luce sustainable activewear

pure by luce sustainable activewear featuring Morocco inspired printed leggings and a white cut-out sports top

We've got a crush on the world - pure by luce creates sustainable, travel-inspired activewear with statement prints and unexpected cuts. In designing each collection, we work with international artists to create our prints, finding inspiration in a different country from around the world. Our third collection is inspired by Morocco's natural and cultural heritage.  Read here all about the inspiration behind and the design process of the pure by luce Morocco collection.

The inspiration

In 2018, pure by luce founder Loes was impelled to create a new collection for her sustainable activewear brand. Although she'd never been there before, Loes thought of Morocco as the next inspiration country as she imagined it to be a place full of scents, colours and artisan knowledge. She followed this spontaneous idea and went to Morocco for two weeks to gain further inspiration and find a guest designer for the next pure by luce collection.

The beginning

In Morocco, Loes visited local concept stores, art galleries and the art scene in general. While still there, she discovered the independent graphic designer and art director Hasna Lahmini online. She’s based in Fez and her work primarily revolves around typography. Although the two official languages of Morocco are Arabic and Amazigh, many Moroccans also speak and understand French. Lahmini therefore wants to combine Arabic and French in writing so that it's easy to digest while reading. Hasna's approach to design is exploratory and firmly rooted in her graphic design background. Through her design projects, she aims to challenge the preconceptions of analogue processes and local know-how and create design solutions, products and experiences which are human-centred, unique and sustainable. Loes and Hasna met several times, first in Marrakech and later in Paris where Lahmini was a student. There they finalised Hasna's designs for pure by luce together.

 

founder of pure by luce Loes and Moroccan graphic designer and art director Hasna Lahmini in Marrakech (Morocco)

founder of pure by luce Loes and Moroccan graphic designer and art director Hasna Lahmini in Marrakech (Morocco) 

The prints

Guest designer Hasna Lahmini created the prints Marrakech and Akchour for pure by luce, both named after Moroccan cities. With these prints, we take you on an exotic and feel-good journey. The Marrakech print was inspired by the aesthetics of the Amazigh Berbers and a fish skeleton symbol often used in carpets and tattoos representing a holy person. For the Akchour print, Hasna was inspired by the cool canyons of Akchour where narrow cliffs merge with waterfalls, clear streams and lush greenery. Hiking through these canyons is an enchanting experience, which Hasna sought to communicate through her design. The result is a bold, dynamic and kinetic pattern which gives an exotic and beachy feel.

However, the prints were not finished yet. On an early morning in Paris on her way to Hasna, Loes was walking across the Pigalle Duperré basketball court with its colourful ombre effect and was blown away by it. They took some photos which ended up in the mood board for the pure by luce Morocco collection. As a result, the colours in both Moroccan-inspired prints flow naturally into each other through an ombre effect, which for Loes was the finishing touch to the prints. In general, Hasna tried, through the choice of colours and composition, to create a warm and lively second-skin effect. 

 

pure by luce Morocco inspired Marrakech and Akchour activewear prints

pure by luce Morocco inspired activewear prints: Marrakech (left) and Akchour (right)

 

the Pigalle Duperré basketball courtyard designed by ILL-STUDIO for Nike x Pigalle in Paris  (image by Alex Penfornis and Sébastien Michelini)

the Pigalle Duperré basketball courtyard designed by ILL-STUDIO for Nike x Pigalle in Paris  (image by Alex Penfornis and Sébastien Michelini) 

The designs

For our Morocco collection, we designed leggings, sports shorts and sports tops. We created both printed leggings and unicolour leggings that perfectly fit within the colour palette of the prints. This collection also includes printed sport shorts in both Morocco inspired prints. Next, we created neutral black and white sports tops and sports T-shirts to match our bold leggings. These do not feature the prints of our Morocco collection, but do stand out for their unique designs, such as the Yatou White and Yatou Black T-shirts with their cut-out sleeve cuffs.

 

pure by luce Moroccan-inspired activewear: Shourouk Akchour printed shorts, Alou Marrakech printed leggings and Yatou Black T-shirt and Noor Ruby unicolour leggings

pure by luce Morocco inspired activewear: Shourouk Akchour printed shorts (left), Alou Marrakech printed leggings and Yatou Black T-shirt (middle) and Noor Ruby unicolour leggings (right) 

 

Like all pure by luce sportswear, each garment in the Morocco collection is made from sustainable European materials and sewn in ethically-managed factories in Portugal.