Sandhya Garg — The Fes Fantasy Collection
Fes Fantasy: How Moroccan Tilework Became a Print
Zellij · The Medina · Dusty Pinks & Palm Trees · 10 Pieces · XS–3XL
Quick Answer
Fes Fantasy takes its geometry from zellij — the hand-cut mosaic tilework of Morocco's palaces, mosques and riads. There is a technical reason it suits cloth so well: zellij is built from a small set of shapes repeating under strict rules, which is exactly what a textile repeat is. A tile pattern has already been solved as a tessellation, by hand, over centuries — so it tiles across a garment cleanly where a pictorial print breaks at every seam. The collection runs from full-length halter gowns to separates, in linen, cotton and ombré satin.
Walking through the ancient medina of Fes, I was overwhelmed by colour. Every doorway was a different shade of blue. Every tile told a different story. The textiles hanging in the souks were alive with geometric patterns that had been hand-woven for centuries.
This collection is my attempt to capture that in wearable form — dusty pinks, palm trees and tilework. But I want to explain the part usually left out: not that Morocco is beautiful, which everyone knows, but why this particular tradition translates onto cloth when so many others do not.
The Fes print at close range. Look at how the motifs interlock — that is the tessellation, and it is what lets the pattern cross a seam without breaking.
Why Zellij Works on Fabric
Zellij is the mosaic tilework covering the walls, floors and fountains of Moroccan palaces, mosques and riads. Small pieces are cut by hand — chiselled, not moulded — and assembled face-down into patterns of extraordinary complexity. The craft is still taught by apprenticeship in Fes, one of its historic centres.
Here is what matters to a textile designer. A zellij pattern is a tessellation that has already been solved. A small vocabulary of shapes, repeating under strict rules, filling a plane with no gaps and no overlaps — the precise technical definition of a printed repeat. Centuries of craftsmen worked out how those shapes lock together. A pictorial print has to solve that from scratch and usually solves it badly, which is why motifs get sliced in half at the side seam of a cheaply printed dress.
Mathematically precise
Every zellij pattern obeys a rule set — rotational symmetry, fixed angles, a closed shape vocabulary. That rigour is why it holds together at any scale, on a wall or on a hem.
Endlessly creative within it
The constraint is the point. Working inside a fixed vocabulary produces more invention than an open brief — true of print design as much as of tile.
Colour without hierarchy
Zellij distributes colour evenly rather than putting one shade in charge, which stops a many-coloured print reading as chaos. Same rule as in our note on multicolour.
A tile pattern is a repeat that centuries of craftsmen already solved. A textile designer borrowing zellij is standing on work finished long before she arrived.
The Full Collection · Ten Pieces In Stock · XS to 3XL
The Fes Fantasy Collection
Maxi dresses, midis, a mini and two separates — in linen, cotton and ombré satin. Every price verified today.
The Zellij Print — Where the Collection Started
The Cities — Tangier, Casablanca, Marrakech
The Separates — A Way In Without a Full Print Dress
Ten pieces in stock, two currently sold out · XS · S · M · L · XL · XXL · XXXL · Made to measure if your size has gone
Frequently Asked Questions
What is zellij?
The hand-cut mosaic tilework of Morocco, found on the walls, floors and fountains of palaces, mosques and riads. Individual pieces are chiselled by hand and assembled face-down into geometric patterns of great complexity. Fes is one of its historic centres, and the craft is still passed on there by apprenticeship.
Why does tilework translate so well into a fabric print?
Because a tile pattern is a tessellation that has already been solved. A small vocabulary of shapes repeating under fixed rules to fill a plane with no gaps is the exact technical definition of a printed repeat. A pictorial print has to solve that from scratch, which is why cheaper prints slice motifs in half at the side seam.
How many pieces are in the Fes Fantasy collection?
Twelve, of which ten are currently in stock — five maxi dresses, two midis, a mini and two tops, with two styles sold out. It is a limited edition, so sizes go and are not reordered. Made to measure is available if yours has gone.
What is a djellaba?
A long, loose hooded robe worn across the Maghreb by both men and women, cut for airflow in heat. Its draped shoulder line is the lineage behind the Fes one-shoulder dress — a reference to how a garment is constructed rather than to its decoration, which is the more interesting kind of borrowing.
Which piece should I start with?
If you want the collection's signature, the Fes one-shoulder or the Habibi. If you want something you will wear every week rather than for occasions, the Tangier or the Casablanca. If a full print dress is more than you want, start with the Myra or the Moroccan Mint top.
Are these prints original?
Yes. Every print is drawn by hand before it becomes a file, then proofed fifteen to twenty times against fabric, scale and light. The geometry draws on zellij tradition; the artwork itself is ours. The process is in how a drawing becomes a dress.
Keep Reading
Inside the Studio
How a Drawing Becomes a Dress
Fifteen to twenty iterations, by eye.
Where They Come From
How Our Prints Are Designed
Travel, drawing, gouache, cloth.
Travelling There
Dressing by Climate
Linen in Morocco, poplin in the tropics.
The Question
Lineage or Borrowing?
Where boho actually comes from.
About the Writer
Sandhya Garg is a Project Runway Season 13 designer who won two challenges on the show and presented her collection at Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week. She studied womenswear and textile design at London College of Fashion and worked at Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Liberty London, and Alice Temperley. Her prints are drawn by hand from travel and from ornamental traditions around the world — featured in Marie Claire, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Vogue online, in sizes XS–3XL with made to measure available.
Project Runway · Vogue · Marie Claire · XS–3XL
Every doorway a different blue.
Sandhya Garg is a Los Angeles boutique creating limited-edition artisanal dresses in original hand-drawn prints, hand embroidery and heritage textiles. Sizes XS–3XL, shipped from Scottsdale within 1–3 days.
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