We celebrate the difference

Ramadhan Moubarak from Maft's Team to all of our precious readers.

In this holy month, families across the country gather around for a delicious meal alongside the TV blasting for company.

This year, we saw a variety of Tv-shows on our small screen with different genres.

One show that captivated us with its costumes was ‘Ken Ya Makenech’, a fantasy soap opera in a fantastical world where its characters are extracted from fairy tales such as Snow White, Cinderella, Prince Charming and much more. It is set in old Tunisia but depicts and criticizes today’s politics with its absurdities, inconsistencies mixed with a gigantic aesthetic shift and complexity that is eased with sarcasm, humor and emotions.

The director behind this show is none other than the creative Abdelhamid Bouchnak who was behind the success of Nouba. The young Tunisian director has joined forces with big names like Hatem Belhadj and the young actor Aziz Jebali for the screenplay as well as Habib Attia, producer of the successful film Un fils. A team of great men.

The costume designer for this series was none other than our favorite artist Salah Barka.

Since 2004, he has created over 12 collections alongside his own brand and trademark called Oshy. He has worked as a designer for theatrical productions and cinematic too.

His style differs from other artists as he focuses on authenticity and ethnicity while creating for the modern audience. He is a leader in Tunisia for ethical and ethnic fashion.

We previously covered this designer in our DTOM section where we had the chance to visit his workplace and get a better view of his career and mind.

I have been honored to interview Salah to talk about costume design and his experience on this project.

The conversation went smoothly thanks to his friendly personality and passion to educate and empower. Here’s how it went:

In my career, I succeeded in working as both, fashion designer and a costume designer. They each involve uniqueness and original designs but differ in the audience being served and the purpose. When working as a Fashion Designer, I am creating commercial pieces to be worn by the public and sometimes follow trends. We are controlled by the demands of the retail market and are urged to come up with designs that will sell.

But with costume designing, we provide compelling pieces for actors and actresses to wear in theatrical pieces, television shows and movies. We read the scripts; we do our research and then try to create the character’s skin in order to give birth to its identity. From fiction to reality.

We are seen as magicians who need to replicate a specific historical period that takes a lot of research and thoroughness. We focus on the character’s details such as diseases, mental illness that makes it unique from other characters.

Not only that, but we often must work with existing pieces rented or purchased for a production rather than original designs.

A costume designer is an important role. The production cannot go with it as it is the visual of the project. Day-to-day tasks include communicating with everyone involved in the production from discussing ideas with the director and production to make-up, lighting and decor. The work is always in parallel with the shooting. We create, we shoot, we discuss, we are always researching suitable costume styles and fabrics, sketch costume designs for new changes and accidents.

Credit Photo: Melek Mensi

I believe that in order to succeed as a costume designer you need to have a lot of passion for the job, a good amount of knowledge and culture is necessary, lots of patience as you will be working with actors, directors and film crews. Most projects contain a big cast and staff so you have to be diplomatic and good at managing people as misunderstandings and conflict may arise. You have to have social skills, and be a team player.

This domain of cinema demands open mindness, maturity and professionalism.

You have to get rid of all your complexes behind when you enter this beautiful world.

Costume is an important aspect of a production, with it, we are able to establish a character, convey the context of the production and support the theme chosen. Costumes give value to the characters and a sense of identity.

We, Costume designers create and provide costumes for everyone involved in the production, from the main characters to the extras. Therefore, we are indispensable. The production can’t start without us, it depends on us, therefore we hold the whole project on our shoulders.

Credit Photo: Melek Mensi

The thing is I was casted only 2 weeks before the production started. So I didn't have enough time to talk with the director. We communicated via WhatsApp about the plot and characters. He is a huge fan of Walt Disney and science fiction so that gave me a closer look at his vision.

I had a meeting with the assistant director and the production company about the contract and budget. The scriptwriter too i had briefly met only a few exchanges about the story in more depth.

What marked me in this project was something the director Abdelhamid said to me. He told me that I have his full trust and faith to excel at this. He handed me the power and responsibility to work it well. The pressure and challenge were real enough.

I am glad I had help from my team of amazing people and also from Carthago Films Studio who rented us costumes for the crew.

So I and my team of 5 people went shopping and visited different markets until we found what we were looking for and got the tissue and materials on the spot in lots and we rented the rest.

While creating and shooting we had found out that one of the fabrics of the costumes was ruined and had defects. So we treated them like I am used to with my upcycling techniques. It’s something my hands are used to.

Which one was the most difficult to create in " Ken ya Makenesh" series?

Hmm. The most difficult to create you ask? Well you see, when you’re in the creative process of making the costumes, you will get the vision for some characters immediately like ‘oh this one can't look only this way you know. Like a clear image. But other characters are hard to come up with ideas for. The picture is not clear enough, like the trio Borghol, Naaneaa and Mehres which are complicated characters. Even royal guests like the kings of different lands were also quite challenging. You see, we had to take into consideration their religion and civilization, and characteristics.

Credit Photo: Melek Mensi

The actress Samia Rhaim that plays Cinderella in the series, was difficult to dress. She is a comedian and businesswoman therefore she pays extra attention to her image. So, it was a challenge to convince her.

The actor Abd Lahmid Kyas who plays the character Bakrag also showed some difficulty.

As they feel the importance of their role they start to intervene so much and try to dominate the outfits, and the colors.

A collaboration between actors and costume designers is possible from time to time but in this scenario, it was really impossible to agree with them. So that may have created some tension here and there. That’s why I told you earlier that to be a great costume designer you have to be very patient and diplomatic. This situation is a great example of conflict.

Credit Photo: Melek Mensi

This project was my challenge. It was me against time. With little talk with the director and the plan not being in place, I had a difficult time managing it all and the responsibility was huge on my shoulders. They can’t film without the costumes. So I was very stressed and working at full speed.

The production lasted 2 months. Almost every character has four costume propositions can you imagine? There were almost 200 actors and characters from different lands and kingdoms that we had to consider and apply to their traditions in the making of their costumes. We were working in parallel with the shooting, so we had to be extra flexible and attentive to changes.

I honestly hate these kinds of work environments that limit my work with not enough time for the creative process. I hate to do a bad job. So, we had to succeed with what we had.

I started my career as a model. When I travel in the industry with my modeling and designing it is always rewarding and fun. But traveling with cinema is different. I go to work.

I guess my favorite project or maybe the project that I remember so well was my first in 1997, the Star Wars trilogy. Back then I got casted without having a clue about Star Wars and its fame.

I really did appreciate every form of art that I participated in and created. But Cinema would forever stay my favorite. I am in love with the 7th Art and period films. I just learn something new every time. That's why I love it, it's a never-ending cycle of learning. 

I am the last one of my generation I believe, the old ones. I am still getting casted and getting calls about projects, and such. And it brings me happiness to see youths of today out there in the field trying to make and mark their way into this competitive industry.

My advice is that you need to love what you do, love the costumes, have culture, and have rich knowledge. You can have no love for fashion and still be a good costume designer. But the taste though is difficult to obtain but very important. You are born with good taste; intuition and creativity. You can't buy it or learn it.

Yes actually. I am excited to work with the great actress Aafef Ben Mahmoud on her new movie. I can’t reveal the title just yet. The genre is a mix between thriller and social drama. It is set in Morocco and will start in June.