Fashion Stipend winner Mohamed Benchellal: “I’m living my dream”

Just under a year and a half of waiting, but now the word is out: Designer
Mohamed Benchellal is the next recipient of the Culture Fund Fashion
Stipend. Benchellal joins a fine list of designers (collectives) who have
previously received the incentive award.

Benchellal is known for his sculptural work, his couture approach and his
work with deadstock materials. His designs are popular on the red carpet,
but Queen Máxima of the Netherlands was also seen wearing one of his
creations on Budget Day a few years ago. The Fashion Stipend jury praised
the designer for his “ode to the sublimation, beauty and poetry that
couture traditionally stands for”.

“Entirely on his own merits and with an unflappable ambition, this designer
has put himself on the couture map internationally in a decade with big
names and considerable accolades supporting his success,” he said. The
Cultuurfonds Mode Stipendium considers it an excellent time to give this
outstanding standard-bearer of Dutch contemporary fashion a financial
injection to boost the next steps in his career,” they said.

One of Mohamed Benchellal’s designs Credits: Benchellal / Photo by Tim
Verhallen

Mohamed Benchellal wins twelfth Culture Fund Mode Stipendium

The designer has known for some time that he is the recipient of the
Fashion Stipendium, but had to keep it quiet for a while – until Wednesday
evening, 29 November at the Rijksmuseum.

“I was completely surprised,” Benchellal recounted during a phone
conversation a week before the award ceremony. “Of course, I knew the award
existed, but I always say that life never gives you what you want, but what
you need. I have already received many beautiful awards and accolades for
my work abroad. So I found it very special to receive such an award in the
country where I was born and grew up. That does me a lot.”

Benchellal says he operates on a small scale but has a wide reach. The
designer previously took home the 2020 Vogue Fashion Prize and has been
included in the Business of Fashion top 500. “I am of course very proud of
the awards abroad, on several fronts, but of course it weighs extra heavily
when your work stands out and is recognised, honoured and celebrated in the
place where you come from. That’s another value.” The award is one of the
few fashion prizes in the Netherlands. “There is almost nothing in the
Netherlands that supports fashion designers. In that sense, it is the
highest attainable.”

The Culture Fund Fashion Stipend of the Netherlands is not only a great
honour to receive, the title also comes with a cash prize. As such,
Benchellal will receive 50,000 euros to help grow and continue his
business. Benchellal has no specific plans.

“I have always said that for me, money is more a means than an end. What I
do, how I operate, is never to get more sales. Therefore, I use the amount
of money to further express myself creatively.”

Benchellal on Fashion Stipend 2023: “Put it to further express myself
creatively”

The style of his work is easily recognisable. How does Benchellal himself
describe his handwriting? “I think it has three key elements. Playing with
volume is definitely a big part, the proportions of it. Where do you place
the volume? It’s also a sculptural craft. It’s free, draped and
sculptural.”

The designer also says it has the essence of classic couture. “It’s very
feminine and also empowering. It’s definitely for someone who really wants
to be in the spotlight. It’s larger than life, but I think everything I do
is a bit larger than life,” laughs Benchellal. That approach – thinking
big, which the designer attributes to his Moroccan background. “I get that
from home. Everything is pretty big. Live life to the fullest.”

Does he have any future plans and dreams? Then again, he is down-to-earth
about that. “I am pretty much coming to terms with the fact that I am
living my dream. I can do exactly what I want and completely unleash my
creativity. ”

“Being able to design what I want without concessions and continue that
every day.” He admits that he never really looks back at his work and
actually never celebrates, but still looked forward to the big moment at
the Rijksmuseum. “It’s very special to pause for a moment,” he says.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.NL.
Translation and edit from Dutch into English by Veerle Versteeg.