Oribe honours its commitment to design and artisanal craft with every product. For the holiday season Oribe partners with artists and makers who root their work in the exploration of beauty through craft. This year, Oribe is proud to partner with Kenyan fine art photographer Thandiwe Muriu.
For the Holiday 2024 Collection, Oribe is proud to partner with Kenyan fine art photographer Thandiwe Muriu to create the packaging of six limited-edition gift sets. Muriu’s artistic vision finds its roots deep in her African heritage and embodies the jubilant spirit of community and togetherness. With this year’s artwork she encapsulates the timeless African proverb:
“When your sister does your hair, you do not need a mirror.”
Muriu explains that when a woman has her hair done in Kenya it is a shared experience: “Strangers quickly become friends over the simple act of helping one woman look her best.” Muriu’s award-winning work largely takes its inspiration from the natural beauty and strength of the women with whom she identifies. She often photographs her subjects — who wear intricate eyewear that she crafts from up-cycled materials in celebration of the Kenyan spirit of creative problem-solving — enveloped in and backdropped by a richly patterned African textile that is diversely utilised from various African cultures and countries, creating a hypnotic and energising optical illusion.
About the Collaboration and Patterns
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.”
Muriu created two textile patterns rich in symbolism, based on traditional 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’ “colourful character” and his collections of vintage hairbrushes and mirrors. She incorporates references to spiky hairbrushes seen from above, as well as the “O’s” of African hair.
The Holiday Sets
Signature Style Travel Set
Gold Lust Liter Set
Côte d’Azur Fragrance &
Body Collection
- Gold Lust Collection: Includes Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo and Conditioner and Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil Travel
- Hair Alchemy Collection: Includes Hair Alchemy Resilience Shampoo and Conditioner and Hair Alchemy Fortifying Treatment Serum Travel
- Moisture & Control Collection: Includes Shampoo for Moisture & Control and Intense Conditioner for Moisture & Control
- Signature Style Travel Set: Includes Signature Shampoo Travel and Signature Conditioner Travel, Royal Blowout Heat Styling Spray Travel
- Gold Lust Liter Set: Includes Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo and Conditioner Liters
- Côte d’Azur Fragrance & Body Collection: Includes Côte d’Azur Eau de Parfum, Côte d’Azur Replenishing Body Wash and Côte d’Azur Restorative Body Crème
Sustainable Packagaing
These boxes are recyclable and are made using FSC Certified, 100% post-consumer fibre papers using a chlorine free process, soy inks and renewable electricity. The internal trays are made from 100% biodegradable and renewable plant fibre.
*For more information on our formulation philosophy, visit Oribe.com