CASAWI & DARNA: MOROCCAN BRUNCH MEETS SWANA CINEMA IN MILAN

Summary:

• Casawi and Darna hosted a Moroccan brunch in Milan that brought together the fashion community around authentic cultural experiences rather than commercial spectacle
• The event featured SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) cinema screening curated by Darna, showcasing stories told through the community's own lens
• The gathering emphasized that fashion should be grounded in culture and genuine connection, creating dialogue between creatives through food and film

On a quiet Saturday in Milan, Casawi and Darna created an event that broke away from the rhythm of the fashion calendar. No runway, no campaign, no spectacle. Instead, a Moroccan brunch became the setting for something deeper. The aroma of fresh bread, the sweetness of honey, and the sharp taste of Tunisian tea brought the city's creative community together around one table.

The food was not there for display. It was a reminder that culture begins in daily rituals. Tunisian tea, for instance, is more than a drink. It is a practice of patience, poured from a height to create foam, shared as a sign of hospitality. Around it, conversations began to flow naturally.

After the table, the gathering moved into a screening curated by Darna. The festival is dedicated to voices from SWANA, the acronym for South West Asia and North Africa. Darna was born from a clear need: to make sure stories from this region were not told only by outsiders, but instead seen through the lens of the community itself. The short films projected that day brought questions of belonging and memory into the room.

Food and film together carried the same message. Culture is not an accessory to fashion, it is the foundation. By opening the space to SWANA voices, the Moroccan brunch reminded the Milan fashion world that connection comes from listening rather than spectacle.

Around the table and in the screening room sat creatives, editors, stylists, and people from the fashion and art industry. They paused for something without commercial transaction or press release. What they found was dialogue. Culture and identity became part of the conversation, expanding the boundaries of what fashion can hold.

This is the mission of Casawi. Fashion often risks becoming a loop of consumption, images without meaning. We believe in another path. Fashion is not only about clothes. It is about the culture that surrounds them, the connections they inspire, and the people who wear them. It is about stories worth telling, and the courage to hear voices that are rarely centered.

The Moroccan brunch with Darna showed another way forward. By bringing together the Milan fashion and art community with SWANA cinema, Casawi turned a Sunday into a space for exchange. No stage, no agenda, only the courage to sit together and listen. What stayed was not a spectacle but a sense of connection. A reminder that fashion grows stronger when it opens itself to culture, and when people meet not as audiences, but as equals around the same table.

Take a look at the photo gallery above, captured by our talented friend and photographer, Alioune Gueye.