Hicham Lahlou, worldwide African design leader

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Hicham Lahlou, ph. Myriem Himmich

A standard-bearer of Moroccan creativity and one of the most authoritative voices on the African & Arab intellectual scene, Lahlou is a visionary who defends social values and progress

An emblematic figure of new-generation creativity, last October MIPAD (Most Influential People of African Descent) anointed Hicham Lahlou (French-Moroccan, born 1973) as one of the hundred most influential people of African descent in 2021 with the late Virgil Abloh and also Sir David Adjaye in the Lifestyle & Design Category, an honour bestowed on him in New York at the end of the 76th United Nations General Assembly. This accolade is just the latest of many: he was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic in 2016, and served as a Community Liason Africa & Mena Region 2015-2017, Member of the Board of Directors at the World Design Organization (WDO) for Africa over the two-year period 2017-2019, and Regional Advisor Africa & Mena Region WDO from November 2019.

After graduating from the Académie Charpentier in Paris in 1995, blending his continent’s traditions with modernity, Lahlou was one of the first African & Arab designers to make a name for himself. Entrepreneurial and eclectic, with great nonchalance he combines institutional positions with concepts for large hotels, designing urban furniture lines, furnishings, accessories and tableware, packaging and brand identity, right through to commercial architecture and strategic design. He is also a visionary who defends progress-led values and supports social issues. In 2014, he organized the African Design Award and Africa Design Days, the first pan-African, global forum on the economies of design, innovation and creative industries in Africa, and supported the effort against Covid by donating his 100%-Moroccan Respirator to his home country.

ART_01_Hichan-Lahlou_1 — Abribus Rabat di Hicham Lahlou, photo courtesy

Straddling art and design, his pieces have been exhibited in major museums, from the Vitra Design Museum to the Guggenheim Bilbao, Kunsthal Rotterdam, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 2018, he co-curated the “AFRICA & LATIN AMERICA Rising Design/Emerging Design” video exhibition for SaloneSatellite with Campana brothers. He co-authored the book African Generation – The Power of Design, with Mugendi K. M’Rithaa, an industrial designer, professor and researcher at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Also in 2018, he received an iF Award for his design of a metal canopy for the Rabat toll barrier on the Moroccan Highway, which at over 100 metres in length is one of the longest in the world. Next up for Lahlou is the Africa Design Academy in Rabat, Africa’s first design school.

www.hichamlahlou.com

You graduated in design from Paris, but in a way you were discovered in Italy. What has our country taught you?

Italy for me is the country of arts, culture and above all the world mecca of design, design in Italy is in the dna of the Italians, their ability to innovate, to develop for over a century in this field and also the first to have understood the importance of design as a lever of economic, industrial, craft and social development. They were also the first to edit designers from all over the world who collaborate with Italian brands operating in the design field in all sectors.

What does design represent for you? Pure creativity and talent? A medium for social and economic development? A powerful diplomatic tool?

Design is a driving force for development and countries without natural resources have understood its strength, like South Korea. Design is the combination of talents and the fusion between the designer and the management, the production, the strategy, the vision. It is also a powerful factor in diplomacy at all levels and multilaterally.

Design is the engine of the innovation and the digital world.

ART_02_Hichan-Lahlou_2 — Dakka Dakka collection di Hicham Lahlou, photo courtesy

There are multiple Africas, and the north of the continent is often seen as separate from the rest. Morocco is a kaleidoscope of Africans, Jews, Arabs, Berbers and Saharawis. It also has shared heritage with people who live around the Mediterranean. How is Africa positioned today within the design and cultural panorama?

There are indeed several Africas, 5 regions in the continent very different from each other and also the 6th region which gathers the diaspora in the whole world of African descent. Morocco, due to its geographical location and its long history, is the gateway to Africa through Tangier, which is only 14 km from Europe. In good weather we can see the coasts of Spain and Spain that of Morocco and Africa. The Kingdom of Morocco extends to Lagouira at the gates of Sub-Saharan Africa and is completely linked to its continent by its particular and unique plural identity. Morocco is a real hub of the continent, which invests a lot in Africa in the South-South cooperation.

Contemporary art and design in Africa are now on the world scene. The artists are listed and exhibited in the largest museums and are part of the permanent collections. Collectors are snatching their works.

In recent years, Africa has raised its profile through major exhibitions at the Vitra Design Museum in 2015, and two years later at Fondation Louis Vuitton. In 2017, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, designed by David Adjaye of Ghana, won Design of the Year. What can Africa do for the world, and what can the world do for Africa?

Africa is the mother of humanity and is the largest continent in the world where more than 2,000 languages are spoken, as well as the richest in resources with the youngest average age on the planet. A very ancient history since the dawn of time with civilizations and empires that have contributed much through their rich cultures and influences. We have great names that express themselves throughout the world and I think that the world must allow us all to express ourselves and create more and more. I think the world should value Africa and Africans in a spirit of sharing, respect and coexistence. The world must learn about Africa and its plural history and its great thinkers. Africa has always given and continues to give in many ways. It must now transform and produce in a framework of sustainable development and preservation of the planet and its resources. The World must protect the African continent because it is a carrier of major issues for humanity. A certain mentality of post-colonization unfortunately remains but it must change totally.

Two particularly ambitious projects are currently underway in Africa: opening the first design academy in Africa, the Africa Design Academy in Rabat, and a travelling exhibition on African design. Could you give us a preview on these developments?

The Africa design academy project is under development with a projected opening in Rabat in October 2022. We are working with the Italian embassy in Morocco and the ITA Italian Trade Agency. Partnerships with prestigious universities and institutions in Italy will be signed. Currently we are looking for support and also potential high-level investors to finalize our round table of financing to develop Morocco and after West Africa. We are also in close collaboration with the French embassy in Morocco and we have signed a partnership with a French university. And other countries like Israel, Canada, and soon USA, India, Turkey, Mexico, China, South Korea, Finland, England for the perspectives.

ART_03_Hichan-Lahlou_3 — Narguilé Disco Pipe éditée par Airdiem Paris, Victoria & Albert Museum London

How is Africa tackling sustainability?

Africa is facing climate change and problems that the whole planet is also facing. At the last COP 22 in Marrakech, Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Africa and the Caribbean were in the spotlight and the issues discussed at a very high level. Design can bring solutions at all levels with the SDG's of the United Nations.

Citco, DAUM, and Haviland are just some of the company exhibitors at the Salone del Mobile.Milano you work with. What does the event mean to you?

Salone del Mobile is the world's showcase for design and designers and it has been a real pleasure for me to go there for over 20 years.

Since I design for international brands, I am always moved to see my edited creations on display. I would be delighted to sign creations for other Italian editor brands such as Citco who presented my work Africa Sound's alongside those of Anish Kapoor, Arik Levy, Zaha Hadid… at the last edition of the show in 2019. An honor for me.