Man Foulards in Roman Carthage

Just above the artist quarter in Punic Carthage, which was destroyed by the Romans, I came across an impressive marble bust in one of the Roman villas.

This Roman guy’s sense of style was definitely cool!

His entire torso is nude, as he sports a large foulard draped around his shoulders, hangin infront and descending slightly more in the back.

Lately on the runways of fashion weeks around the world, there is much draping as layer is added upon layer, a trend that was very common among the Romans.

For more reading on Roman dress, go to Roman Blockbusters, Byzantium & Barbarians.

The additional photos that follow the bust were taken at the thermal bathes just below the Roman Villas.

Stroll through the ancient Roman bathes here.

Photos Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.

Category › Carthage , Roman fashion , Tunis , Tunisia

Tunics in Tunisia

When the Romans destroyed ancient Carthage, they rebuilt the city and populated the land.

In the area of ancient Carthage, just above where the destroyed Punic artist quarter, the Romans constructed beautiful villas that ascend up the hill, terraced one on top of the other.

As I was walking through one such villa, I came across some floor mosaics, which narrate the story of how Roman men dressed in North Africa during the time of Roman Carthage.

Notice the colorful details on each Tunic. The patterns follow a geometric symmetry with lots of borders, cuffs, and breast pieces.

The photos that follow the mosaics are from the surrounding Roman villas. Enjoy the romantic walk through the villas here!

Photos Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.

Category › Carthage , Roman fashion , Tunis , Tunisia

Salah Barka—the Tuniversal Designer!

Yesterday in my introduction to this year’s exploration of menswear around the world, I made mention to one of Africa’s most acclaimed designers, Salah Barka.

The 35-year-old Tunisian designer hails from a city in southern Tunisia, Gabès, which is situated in the territory of Carthage.

Although Salah worked first as a costume designer before he entered the world of fashion in 1998, he is totally self taught, having studied fashion from perusing the web!

Salah creates fashion-forward collections that span the 3,000-year history of his homeland, as he references the styles, fabrics, jewelry, and garments of the ancient Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Berbers, Ottomans, and Arabs.

Typical of the collections are the fez hats and hooded cloaks of North Africa, the equestrian pants of West Africa, and the Tunisian-style pants that slim at the calves.

Winner of the Silver Thread Prize, Salah Barka presents his collections regularly at Tunisia Fashion Week.

I am very excited to become acquainted with this exquisite designer and, hopefully, to learn more about Tunisian menswear from the Tuniversity of Salah Barka!

For more images, please click here.

Photos Courtesy & Copyright Salah Barka.

Category › Ottoman fashion , Phoenician fashion , Punic fashion , Roman fashion , Salah Barka , Tunisian designers