Fashion
‘Curly is beautiful’: Tunisian women embrace natural hair
By
AFP
Published
August 21, 2025
In countries around the world, beauty standards have shifted radically in recent years, with a growing number of beauty salons and cosmetic brands in Tunisia promoting natural styles.
Still, the battle is far from won, and many women in Tunisia still rush to get their hair straightened ahead of a wedding or a meeting, and some fear that if they do not wear their hair straight for a job interview, they might not get hired.
Advocates for wearing one’s natural hair believe that at the root of the stigma around curls lies a form of discrimination that they call “texturism”.
“The further you move away from what is considered Afro, kinky or curly, the more socially accepted you are,” said Nawal Benali, a journalist and host of a podcast on racism in North Africa. “Because that’s a marker of proper appearance and presentability.”
Benali said the standards had first been set in “the white, Western world”, calling the obsession around straight hair an attempt to “erase our Indigenous and African features”.
Dhouha Mechergui, who co-founded Pineapple Studio, recalled having her hair straightened by her mother ahead of every religious holiday growing up. She said it took courage to make her own switch to natural, and that she had to work hard to convince women to embrace their curls and come to her salon. “Sometimes I play the role of psychiatrist, because I know making that decision is very difficult,” she said.
Aside from the drive for greater authenticity, health concerns have become a part of the debate, with one major study by the US National Institutes of Health linking chemical hair straightening products to a higher risk of uterine cancer.
For generations, people around the world were told to straighten, braid, cut or otherwise conceal their curls, or else get sent home from school or work. A global drive buoyed by the Black Lives Matter movement gave rise to a major pandemic-era trend of beauty videos celebrating natural hair.
The push did not go unnoticed: French lawmakers last year voted to ban discrimination based on hair texture, while several US states have passed similar legislation. Tunisia has no such initiative, so women entrepreneurs are leading the change.
In 2021, Sirine Cherif cofounded Kamaana — or “as I am” — Tunisia’s first homegrown haircare brand dedicated to curly locks. “When we started, we were the only specialised brand on the market,” she said. “A few months later, there was a domino effect: bigger brands launched their own curly-hair lines.”
And today, Tunisian companies such as Zynia and Lilas Cosmetics have joined the growing industry. For Cherif, the boom is both a lucrative business opportunity and a marker of profound social change.
“We are proud to have encouraged people to be themselves, to resist this societal pressure and embrace their natural hair,” she said. Her company has seen 42% annual growth since its founding, she said, adding: “We want to start a curl revolution.”
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Economic momentum remained strong at the end of 2025, with real GDP expanding 8.4 per cent year on year (YoY) in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in several years. Growth was driven by robust export-oriented industrial production. Credit growth surged to 19.4 per cent YoY by December, well above deposit growth of 14 per cent, SBV said in a release.
Vietnam’s interbank rates, which rose sharply in late 2025, are expected to ease in 2026 as credit growth and economic momentum cool.
GDP expanded 8.4 per cent year on year in Q4, while credit growth of 19.4 per cent outpaced deposits.
Despite a strong 2025, US tariff risks remain.
The SBV is likely to keep rates steady while targeting slower credit growth.
While Vietnam enters 2026 on a positive footing after achieving an estimated 8 per cent growth in 2025, external risks remain significant for the export-driven economy. Goods exports to the US, which account for around 30 per cent of the total, face the lagged impact of 20 per cent reciprocal tariffs, uncertainty over transshipment duties, and the risk of additional sectoral measures, including possible semiconductor levies.
Monetary authorities have signalled a cautious policy stance for 2026 despite an official GDP growth target of 10 per cent, which analysts view as difficult to achieve. Growth is expected to moderate to around 6.5 per cent, while the SBV has set a lower credit growth target of 15 per cent to limit overheating and resource misallocation risks.
The refinancing rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.50 per cent, though the possibility of an unexpected rate hike cannot be ruled out if liquidity strains persist.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
Published
January 16, 2026
Moncler and Rick Owens have unveiled their first-ever summer collection, expanding their ongoing collaboration with a warm-weather offering inspired by Berlin’s brutalist architecture and Moncler’s outdoor expertise.
Designed as a lightweight, warm-weather uniform, the collection reflects Rick Owens’ vision of where nature and city meet, described by Owens’ as “brucolic.”
Notably, as part of the Spring/Summer 2026 lineup, kilt-style shorts and slinky, asymmetric jersey skirts are paired with tonal hiking socks and Trailgrip Megalace sneakers, reinforcing the collection’s emphasis on movement and adaptability. The color palette is characterized by black, dark dust, vintage olive, and a bold carnelian red, which appears for the first time in this season’s collaboration.
Other collection highlights include quilting and graphic embroidery, lightweight outerwear in leather and nylon, as well as summery windbreakers and relaxed jerseys that play with proportion and silhouette. Consistent with the designer’s ethos, the collection embraces gender-neutral styling across relaxed bombers and nipped-in, cropped styles, with exaggerated shoulders. Completing the collection are accessories including sunglasses, quilted bucket hats, caps, and waistbags.
The collection launches with a series of intimate images shot by Juergen Teller, featuring Rick Owens and his wife and longtime muse Michèle Lamy, alongside Teller himself and his wife and creative partner Dovile Drizyte. The candid photographs capture moments of affection, reinforcing themes of love, passion, and human connection.
The collection is now available online, as well as in selected Moncler boutiques, Rick Owens flagship stores, and select retailers worldwide.
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