IMILCHIL, Morocco: As a young girl growing up in the Atlas mountains, Hannou Mouloud’s family took her to have her chin tattooed with the cherished lines that generations of Moroccan Amazigh tribeswomen wore.
“When I was six, they told me tattoos were pretty adornments,” recalled the 67-year-old from Imilchil village of the once-common practice among women in North Africa’s Amazigh groups.
Long referred to as Befcerbers, many tribespeople from the area prefer to be called Amazigh, or Imazighen, which means “free people.”
Today, like in many of the Indigenous cultures across the world where facial tattoos were long prevalent, the practice has largely faded.
Many attribute the near-disappearance of facial tattoos to Morocco’s changing religious attitudes in recent decades, with interpretations of Islam where inked skin and other body modifications like piercings are prohibited taking hold.
“We would use charcoal to draw the designs on our faces, then a woman would prick the drawing with a needle until blood came out,” Mouloud told AFP, adding that they would rub the wound daily with a chewed green herb to deepen the tattoo’s color.
The markings vary in design between the minority’s tribes and were used to signify the wearer’s origin while offering beauty and protection.
Being tattooed would hurt, said Hannou Ait Mjane, 71, and “we couldn’t hold back our tears” but it “remains a tradition that our ancestors passed down to us.”

Morocco has the largest Amazigh population in North Africa, with Tamazight, the community’s language, recognized as an official language alongside Arabic.
According to the most recent census in 2014, more than a quarter of Morocco’s 35 million inhabitants speak at least one dialect — Tarifit, Tamazight or Tachelhit.
Abdelouahed Finigue, a geography teacher and researcher from Imilchil, told AFP that women often had their chins, foreheads or hands tattooed.
“Some women had intimate areas tattooed as a wedding gift, expressing their love for their husband,” he added.
The designs held different meanings to the different communities.
“The woman, through her tattoos, expresses her beauty and her value as an individual independent of the man,” he said, explaining what the different shapes can mean.
“The circle, for example, represents the universe and beauty, just like the moon and the sun which occupied an important place in local rites,” he said.
But changing religious trends means fewer women are getting inked.
“In recent years, this custom has been tainted by preconceived ideas from Salafist currents,” he added, referring to a Sunni Islamist movement that seeks to return to the practices and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
Bassou Oujabbour, member of local development association AKHIAM, said women with the markings have faced social pressure.
“Fundamentalists sometimes describe tattooing as the devil’s book or as the first thing to be burned on the human body,” he said.
“Some women even removed the tattoos long after getting them for fear of punishment after death.”
 

DUBAI: US actress and musician Ashley Park showed off a glittering gown by Lebanese designer Elie Saab in New York.

Best known for her portrayal of Mindy Chen on the Netflix comedy series “Emily in Paris,” the actress attended the Time100 Next gala in a halter-neck dress from Saab’s Fall 2024 collection. The figure-hugging number was embellished with spherical sequins and minute stars overlain on a geometric gridwork of beading.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by ELIE SAAB (@eliesaabworld)

The stars of the show are known for championing Arab designers, with Egyptian jewelry label Jude Benhalim nabbing a starring role in the latest season of the hit Netflix series that was released in September.

Throughout multiple scenes, the Cairo-based label’s pieces are featured prominently on several characters in different episodes.

In episode six of season five, the Ripple Ring in gold is seen on Emily Cooper, portrayed by Lily Collins. Also in episode six, Camille’s mother, Louise, played by Camille Japy, shines in the Droplet Earrings in white.

Additionally, Park’s character is spotted wearing the Elea Hoops in the same episode.

 

 

 

 

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Benhalim, who is part-Libyan and part-Syrian and grew up in Egypt, founded her eponymous brand in 2011 when she was just 17 and has since gone on to release a number of lines that each pay tribute to her heritage, finding fans in a handful of celebrities.

Meanwhile, Elie Saab has no shortage of celebrity fans and recently unveiled his Spring/Summer 2025 collection at Paris Fashion Week in front of a star-studded crowd.

The designer showcased a mesmerizing journey through the African savannah that felt fresh, vibrant, and completely devoid of tired clichés, according to the Associated Press’s Thomas Adamson.

Right from the start, Saab showed he wasn’t afraid to play with the safari staples — but with a twist. Safari suits, reimagined as roomy linen separates and sleek crepe jumpsuits, traded their usual khaki for the blazing red of fireball lilies, moody elephant gray, and the ochre dust of West Africa. It was a palette that brought the raw, natural beauty of the continent to life without falling into the predictable tropes. These looks weren’t the romanticized garb of the intrepid explorer; they were effortlessly chic, perfectly fitted for today’s cosmopolitan adventurer.