Dutch-Moroccan Designer’s Ad Sparks Controversy Over Veiled Eiffel Tower

The adventure begins for Nada Merrachi in 2020. That year, she launched Merrachi, an Islamic clothing brand, with her husband. The latter would have invested in her company "as a wedding gift, because in Moroccan culture, it is customary for a man to offer something to his future wife, like a dowry," said the 26-year-old stylist in an interview with the Dutch women’s media Spot On. How did the idea of creating an Islamic clothing brand come to her? According to the story relayed on her social networks - where the young woman is hyperactive - Nada would then "have had trouble finding clothes that correspond as much to her personal style as to her deep convictions and values," reports Le Figaro.

She first tries her hand at scarves, which sell quickly. This immediate success prompts her to expand her range to abayas, hijabs, pants and skirts... Presented as "self-taught", Nada owes her status to the know-how she would have acquired "in the sewing workshop of her grandmother and aunt in Morocco". On TikTok and Instagram, the young Muslim woman shows her "outfits of the day", presents cooking recipes or describes her day, like a classic influencer. Over the years, her Merrachi brand has met with real success. She now has a store in Amsterdam. Last June, Nada opened a "pop-up store" in Antwerp, Belgium.

Last Saturday, the young stylist opened a temporary store at 97 rue de Turenne. It remains open until March 31, the end of Ramadan. But the one who is considered one of the "pioneers of modest fashion", according to the description on her website, has sparked a heated controversy in France due to an advertisement announcing the opening of the store. On March 9, she posted a video on her TikTok account showing the Eiffel Tower veiled in an Islamic tunic, accompanied by the following caption: "The French government hates the idea of Merrachi arriving."

The Islamic clothing brand did not hesitate to mock lightly the growing restrictions imposed on women wearing Islamic clothing in the country. "Remember when they banned the hijab?" she writes. A false statement. The hijab has never been banned in public spaces, only in schools. Only the burqa, which covers the face, is prohibited in France. An Islamic garment that Merrachi does not market.