Thandiwe Muriu, a fine art photographer has partnered with Oribe for their holiday gift sets.
For this collaboration, Muriu partnered with talented Oribe hair artists to present a bold expression of beauty. “Hair is a language we all speak,” she says. “It’s been amazing to realize the relationship that Oribe has with its hair stylists, with its founder, and the celebration of the life of Oribe Canales. It’s about something more than just the products and what they deliver: It’s coming together to create an empowerment for people to have this beautiful hair that they always wanted, and that deeply connected with me.”
The prints
Muriu created two textile patterns rich in symbolism, based on traditonal African ankara prints. As she explains, the oval shapes in “A Cycle of Togetherness” came from “the relationship between the community that I live in and how Oribe views hair: It’s one big hair community.” In seeking a visual representation, she thought of the unbroken circle that wedding bands represent: “When I think about community, it’s an unbroken circle of love and support,” she says. Muriu was also inspired by Oribe Canales’ “colorful character” and his collections of vintage hairbrushes and mirrors, incorporating references of spiky hairbrushes seen from above, as well as the tight coils, curls, and “O’s” of African hair.
Strands of history
The “Strands of History” pattern was inspired by the shape of the neck of the Curl Gloss Hydration & Hold bottle, which Muriu deconstructed and laid straight to create a wavy pattern. “For the first pattern, I was thinking of the Oribe brand as a family. For the second, it was thinking about, ‘what is the actual product of this family coming together?’ It’s a celebration of what the Oribe family does to help people with their self-expression and sense of beauty.” Muriu also worked with upcycled Oribe packaging from the archives to handcraft brilliant, one-of-a-kind eyewear, which pops from
the patterns and echoes the model’s ornately styled hair. These accessories playfully push the boundaries of beauty standards while modernizing traditional, architectural hairstyles. Enrobed in this jubilant packaging — designed in warm colours to express the warm feeling that Muriu experiences when having her hair done — the six covetable gift sets are an expression of community and artistry — and, of course, care and togetherness.
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