Fez — Moroccan designer Zhor Raïs is marking 40 years of creation with “Dalí Diali – L’étoffe du rêve” (“The Fabric of the Dream,”) an exhibition presented at the Maison de Couture “Zhor Raïs” in Casablanca that brings together 12 bronzes from the “Dalí Universe” collection and 12 couture pieces created in response.
Presented as an artistic installation rather than a traditional fashion showing, the project invites visitors to move through an intimate, sculptural route where each garment is treated as an artwork in its own right — part of a concept in which the pieces are designed to be displayed before traveling to other art, fashion, or design institutions.
Twelve sculptures, twelve couture ‘responses’
The exhibition’s structure is built on dialogue: each couture creation mirrors a specific Dalí sculpture, with the selection including recognizable motifs from the sculptor’s universe such as “Dance of Time I,” “Space Elephant,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Woman Aflame.”
Published descriptions say the work required close to three years of research and experimentation, translating Dalí’s recurring themes — elastic time, metamorphosis, dream and the unconscious, flight and lightness, duality, and memory — into textile form.
A Dalí signature first for textile couture
A key element of the project is authorization linked to Dalí’s signature. Coverage of the exhibition describes it as a precedent for “Dalí Universe,” with the organization authorizing the signature’s use on textile creations for the first time, and issuing certificates of authenticity for the pieces.
One report also states the creations exist in limited editions — five examplesexemplars per design plus additional artist proofs — reinforcing the idea that the garments are positioned as collectible artworks rather than commercial runway looks.
Why Casablanca, and why now
Accounts of the project trace its roots to 2016, when Zhor Raïs encountered Dalí’s sculptural work at an exhibition in Riyadh — an experience described as the spark that later developed into the Casablanca staging.
The timing also places “Dalí Diali – L’étoffe du rêve” within a broader moment for Moroccan heritage fashion: UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage listing now includes “Moroccan Caftan: art, traditions and skills,” inscribed in 2025.
About “Dalí Universe”
The sculptures shown are presented as part of a major private Dalí collection associated with “Dalí Universe,” a body of three-dimensional works by Salvador Dalí assembled by art collector and exhibition curator Beniamino Levi and exhibited internationally in museum settings.
That positioning matters for the Casablanca show’s concept: it frames the caftan not only as a garment, but as a craft system capable of entering global art circuits through curatorial formats and cross-disciplinary partnerships.
Dates and access
The exhibition was presented from December 9 and is accessible from December 16 through January 10 by appointment only, with visiting hours listed from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
It is hosted at Maison “Zhor Raïs” in the Oasis neighborhood of Casablanca, at 11 rue des Papillons (Lot Rahma II).
