The Marrakech retreat is four days. The list is short. We have done it now three times — once for fourteen, twice for eighteen — and the bag is always the same bag. Below is what goes in it.
The list.
- One linen shirt. White or oat. Wear it on the plane. Wear it for the first riad dinner. Wear it on the terrace at sunset. By day three it has the salt of you in it and that is when it works.
- A long skirt. Cotton, ankle, slightly looser than you think. The medina is warm and very visual. A long skirt is both kinder and prettier than shorts.
- The Butter Glow Set, twice. One for class mornings on the rooftop. One worn under the linen shirt for the orange-grove walk. Buttersoft handles 28°C — we tested.
- Two books. One you will not finish. One you will read in two days. I always bring Annie Ernaux and a mystery. The mystery wins.
- The S68 Spring Cup. Not for sentiment — for the courtyard mint tea. The hotel cups are tiny. You will want yours by mid-morning.
- A scarf for the medina. Light, big, oat-coloured. Becomes a head-wrap, a picnic blanket, a tea-cosy, a shawl. The most useful object you will own.
- Slippered shoes. The riad floors are tile and you will want to be quiet on them.
What not to bring.
A swimsuit you have to think about. Heels. A hairdryer (the riads have them). More than one perfume. Anything that requires ironing. A book about productivity.
One small ritual.
On day two, before class, I lay out the things I will wear that day on the bed and make a polaroid of them. Not for posting — for remembering. The slippers next to the cup next to the long skirt next to the linen shirt. Three years from now, I will be back in some grey March in Geneva and that polaroid will say this happened, this is what it looked like, you are allowed to want it again.
The retreat itself, of course, is the eighteen women in the riad. The rest of this is just the wrapping.
Marrakech 2026 has eight spots left at the time of writing.