A hundred years ago, in the courtyard of Neues Museum in Berlin the world came face to face for the first time with one of the most enduring beauty icons: the queen Nefertiti . Discovered in Egypt in 1912 by German archaeologists, their limestone bust covered in stucco 3,300 years old, was first exhibited in 1924. The revelation stunned audiences from Cairo to London and sparked a century-long fascination with its aesthetics.
The artifact’s sharply defined features—its chiseled jawline, high cheekbones, swan neck, and kohl-lined eyes—have for decades become a reference point in fashion and the arts.
On the bust, Nefertiti is depicted with a wide necklace and a flat-topped crown with a golden band and the uraeus (a sacred serpent adornment), decorated in greens, yellows, browns and blues. Research indicates that she was a noble and royal woman, who had six daughters, one of whom, according to sources, was the wife of Tutankhamun, but little is known about her life and origins.
Egypt in the 14th century BC was not ethnically homogeneous, and many scholars believe that, based on her depictions and the region’s population, Nefertiti would be considered a woman of color in today’s terms.
“The bust of Nefertiti is so perfect; she’s so self-sufficient,” said Dr. Cheryl Finley, professor of art history at Spelman College in Atlanta. “That’s what really catches the eye and the imagination. It’s her confidence, and her look, of course. That’s something that attracts us.”
After the discovery of the bust in the 1920s, Nefertiti quickly became a beauty icon. The meaning of her name, “the beauty has arrived,” proved particularly apt, as her face was plastered in kohl advertisements, and her image appeared in beauty columns.
Designers of the time, such as French couturier Paul Poiret, incorporated Egyptian patterns into their creations. In 1945, American milliner Lilly Daché designed hats with a distinct Nefertiti style. In 1961, Vogue magazine published an article exploring the ongoing “fascination” with the Queen. Elizabeth Taylor’s portrayal of Cleopatra in 1963 further solidified this obsession, making the “Egyptian look” a staple in fashion circles.
Nefertiti’s style continued to influence fashion decades after her bust was discovered. At Dior’s Spring 2004 show, John Galliano presented looks that included tall hats inspired by Nefertiti. In 2015, Christian Louboutin launched a lipstick collection inspired by the queen, with gold and black bottles adorned with crowns. Jewelry designers such as Azza Fahmy evoked her image in their pieces, while Azzedine Alaïa’s Fall 2017 collection paid tribute with black turbans, one of which was worn by supermodel Naomi Campbell.
Today, Nefertiti’s relevance as a cultural icon remains strong. On TikTok and Instagram, influencers recreate the queen’s looks in tutorials. Her image inspires everything from mass-produced t-shirts and mugs to $14,000 dresses and luxury perfumes. In the beauty industry, brands like Juvia’s Place and Black- and Latinx-owned UOMA Beauty market makeup in honor of Nefertiti. Even plastic surgeons reference it with the “Nefertiti Lift” — a non-invasive aesthetic technique that uses Botox to improve the jawline.
“The bust of Nefertiti…transcends time,” Finley explained. “It also allows people to draw their own power from it.”
However, the story of how Nefertiti’s bust ended up in Berlin is shrouded in controversy. After being transported to Europe in 1913, a year after its discovery in Egypt, the piece was hidden from the public for more than a decade. In 1924, to great fanfare, it was displayed at the Neues Museum, where it remains to this day, fueling an ongoing debate over its rightful location (a recent petition led by Egyptologist Zahi Hawass has reignited calls for its repatriation, stating that its removal from the country was “unjustified” and against “the spirit of Egyptian laws”).
When the bust was first revealed, white Western women sought to emulate Nefertiti’s look. A 1933 New York Times article encouraged women to recreate their angular features — albeit without darkening their skin, echoing structural inequalities in the beauty industry, which fetishized non-European aesthetics but discouraged and discriminated against darker skin tones. Women began to imitate Nefertiti’s style, lining their eyes like her, wearing tops that imitated the necklaces of the time and adopting tall hats or styling their hair to imitate her crown. Replicas of the bust even appeared in hair salons in the USA, promising the attraction of its “exotic” beauty.
“And why wouldn’t you want to look like her?” said Dr. Elka Stevens, associate professor of visual culture and art at Howard University in Washington, D.C. “Take off the crown, put it on any society, and it will fit in.”
Telling us more about ourselves than about her
Nefertiti may have been more palatable to European audiences, as some of her characteristics coincide with Western aesthetic preferences, explained Professor Charmaine A. Nelson of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The queen, she noted, challenged “much of the history of Western perceptions of black women and women of color, who are seen as ‘other,’ ‘grotesque,’ ‘unaesthetic bodies,’” said Nelson, who teaches art and history of art of the black diaspora. “It’s really impressive and probably works in the favor of the white gaze that your hair is covered,” he added, suggesting that textured hair, especially Afro-textured styles, has historically challenged Eurocentric beauty standards.
In many ways, Nefertiti tells us more about ourselves than about her. Although he is one of the most recognizable figures in ancient history, much of his life remains a mystery—a gap that allows his persona to be molded into whatever icon society needs at any given time.
As the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, Nefertiti played an important role in Egyptian politics. Together, the couple led a religious revolution, abandoning polytheism and promoting the cult of the sun god Aten. Nefertiti was often portrayed with her husband, wearing elaborate garments, suggesting that her fashion was linked to her political gravitas. But, after 12 years of Akhenaten’s reign, she disappeared from historical records, giving rise to several theories about her fate — was she exiled, fell ill or murdered? Some speculate that she even assumed a new identity as co-regent.
Nefertiti’s legacy has been “whitened” in several ways; a 2018 3D reconstruction, for example, drew criticism for its lighter skin tone. These efforts reflect attempts to “whitewash” Egypt and “claim it as closer to Europe than to (black) Africa,” notes Nelson.
A symbol of power
Meanwhile, in black culture, Nefertiti has been adopted as a symbol of power, with contemporary figures such as Beyoncé and Rihanna taking inspiration from her image.
Rihanna, who has a tattoo of Nefertiti’s bust on her rib, paid tribute to her on the 2017 cover of Vogue Arabia. Beyoncé channeled Nefertiti in the 2016 music video for the song “Sorry,” styling her hair to mimic the crown and posing like the work of art. The singer’s Coachella performance in 2018 featured a cover created by Balmain featuring Nefertiti’s likeness. At the height of her career, Erykah Badu wrapped her dreadlocks in a way to imitate the queen’s adornment; Aretha Franklin also wore “Nefertiti turbans.” More recently, English singer FKA Twigs sported half-shaved hair and fake dreadlocks, imitating Nefertiti’s crown, and, at the 2024 Met Gala, Dutch supermodel Imaan Hammam’s makeup artist did exaggerated eyeliner, also in homage to the ancient queen.
The royal consort’s memory goes far beyond trends — it helps shape how people see themselves, Stevens said. “It changes the way we engage with each other when we know there is this shared history.”
Perhaps most importantly, for many, the image of Nefertiti is deeply personal. “I see my family when I look at it, and I can see your family,” Stevens says. For this reason, “we will be treated to tales of its beauty until the end of time. She’s not going anywhere — she’s going to live through each of us, and that’s the most exciting thing.”
This content was originally published in Why Nefertiti still inspires, 3,300 years after her reign on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
