To celebrate Marrakech as the newest destination on the glam set’s itinerary and further promote the city as anything but a dusty hippie hideaway, Moroccan National Tourist Board C.E.O. Hamid Addou looked to bring an authentic Red City experience to New York on September 28. The event at Skylight Soho was part of an integrated campaign that also saw pit stops in Berlin, Milan, and Paris. For the Manhattan leg of the marketing tour, Paris-based production company Le Public Système worked with Chakib Ghadouani, the board’s New York-based marketing manager, as well as Vanessa Weiner von Bismarck, principal at public relations firm B.P.C.M., to organize and orchestrate a seated “Red by Marrakech” dinner for nearly 300 guests that, for one night, transported them to the North African city (minus the jet lag).
“We wanted to bring a taste of the city of Marrakech to New York and make it appealing to New Yorkers,” said Ghadouani. To achieve that, Le Public Système brought elements of the city’s rich culture—from the decor and music to the food and even the furniture—straight from Marrakech on three large ocean containers. The production took three days to set up and just one to break down.
Upon arrival, guests—as well as hosts Alan Cumming and Anjelica Huston—were ushered through a “Red Door” (a replication of the entrance to Marrakech Town Center) and greeted by a musician playing the khanoun, a Middle Eastern musical string instrument. Greeted by hostesses clad in authentic Moroccan caftans, the attendees received special tokens (bracelets for men, necklaces for women) as a sign of welcome as they checked in. “The goal of the dinner is to let people discover the city of Marrakech—the spirit, the color, the food, the vibe,” said Nicolas Manessiez, production coordinator at Le Public Système, who worked with four colleagues on this event. “We needed to give a traditional aspect mixed with the modern and trendy ways Marrakech can be.”
During cocktails, guests explored vignettes erected in the 10,000-square-foot space, each designed to represent different aspects of Moroccan life. Red, Marrakech’s traditional hue, was the underlying color scheme, with walls painted red and 7,000 square feet of red carpet running along an authentic moucharabieh wall (the carved wooden latticework present in traditional Arabic architecture) imported from Marrakech.
Summoned to their seats by Barriz, a storyteller from the Place Jamaa el-Fna who appeared on four oversize projection screens, guests started dinner with traditional Moroccan appetizers, served family-style on each of the 30 tables. A main dish of confit of chicken with dates, apple, and dried fruit ratatouille followed, accompanied by wines, and capped off with Moroccan mint tea and a dessert of caramelized pear with ras el hanout-spiced ice cream. In between courses, performers—including a dance troupe choreographed by Le Public Système creative director Anne Trompette, Gnawa musicians, and a modern dance duo—took to a custom, star-shaped stage in the center of the room.
After New York, the “Red by Marrakech” dinner moves on to London in November.
