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While it’s rare these days to see a fashion show without any racial diversity, backstage, there’s still some way to go to make the industry inclusive. There has been some progress in skincare and makeup, but an understanding of different haircare needs lags behind.
Many Black models had to do their own hair this season because hairdressers lacked the expertise to work with textured hair, industry sources tell Vogue Business. It’s an ongoing problem. “The front of the house has changed so much, but the back of the house also has to make those adjustments,” says Celia Sears, founder, CEO and president of Show Division, an agency launched in 2015 that provides backstage creative support. All of the hairdressers Show Division works with must prove they are either proficient in textured hair, or ready to learn.
By failing to provide expertise in textured hair backstage, brands risk alienating talent, being called out on social media, and even damaging models’ hair. But, the question is: should all hairdressers be taught these skills, or should brands bring in specialists?
In an industry that has been called out for systemic racism, the way fashion brands approach hair is important, experts say. Hair has been used as a source of discrimination against the Black community throughout history, which still translates to microaggressions today, explains Sharon Lloyd, race and equalities advisor for the education pillar at the British Beauty Council and course leader of MA ‘Hair and Makeup Futures’ at Solent University. “During the 18th century, because there was a pride in Black women’s hair, they were told to cover it up. The moment it was seen as a source of pleasure, society worked to deny them of that.”
Black models might be left to do their own hair, or given hairstyles that appeal to the white gaze. “Black talent often has to fit a certain type of aesthetic — so it’s usually straight back braids, or single braids of a certain length and thickness, or a really large Afro or a really short Afro,” says Isaac Poleon, a London-based hairstylist who specialises in Afro and European hair textures and worked on Labrum London’s show this season.
Some brands are tackling this head on. Labrum London’s show — set in Brixton Village, an area of the city known for its large immigrant population — was inspired by the ways immigrants communicate and stay in touch with their loved ones in the motherland. Founder Foday Dumbuya wanted all his models to have their natural hair textures, to represent what immigrants looked like before their hair was altered to meet the white gaze. “I wanted everyone to look like what they would look like before they arrived in this country, or what [they would] look like where they’re from,” says Dumbuya. Whether the model was Black or white, they received a hairstyle that matched their own natural hair texture.
Dumbuya views hair as part of his show concept. “It can be a representation of who people are, where they’re from and what they do. It connects history, it connects people and how they want to perceive themselves,” he says.
New York-based designer Tia Adeola also has a hands-on approach when developing hairstyles, factoring in time for two to three models to test each look on the moodboard. “I’m from Nigeria, and my hair was always braided growing up so [developing] the hairstyles is a reflection of my life and background,” she says.
Mike Martinez, who was lead hairdresser at Adeola’s New York Fashion Week show this season, as well as Enfants Riches Déprimés in Paris, says failing to hire hairstylists who can work with textured hair could limit creativity. “The default is to just slick [textured hair] down, or pop up the Afros or just put in cornrows, but that’s kind of boring. You’re also doing a disservice to that girl because for the whole month in New York, London, Milan and Paris they're all going to look like they had cornrows the whole season because no one wants to deal with their hair.”
Stylists should be more open to creative experimentation with hair, agrees Dominique Babineaux, a model with textured hair who has been working full time since 2015 with brands including Calvin Klein, L'Oréal, Ganni and Christopher John Rogers. “The show always has a set hairstyle and you want to be part of the vision. Not every texture can do that but I think [the brands] should accommodate something for us. We want to be treated like everyone else.”
Closing the expertise gap
Basic training on how to care for textured hair is still limited. The US has no nationwide requirement to teach textured haircare or styling, however Louisiana became the first state to include Black haircare in its cosmetology board’s graduation requirements for hair cutting but not styling. In the UK, it became mandatory for Black hair to be part of the hairdressing curriculum at further education level in 2021. However, Solent University’s Lloyd sees this more as a “tick box exercise” as often it’s only one short module. Show Division began offering an inclusive backstage training programme in 2018; a series of in-person masterclasses that provide a base of knowledge about how to work with textured hair and darker complexions.
Show Division’s Sears thinks fashion’s governing bodies could play a role in pushing for more training for textured hair. “They’re at the top and everything trickles down, so if the mandate came from them [to ensure there are hairstylists at each show who can work with textured hair] I can guarantee it would be a game changer,” she says. “But that becomes difficult because nobody wants to play the political game of putting pressure on their stakeholders, because these designers are paying to be part of these fashion associations.”
Show Division partnered with Italy’s national fashion chamber, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), and offered its inclusive backstage masterclass for two seasons in 2021. However, that partnership has since ended as the organisation did not have sufficient budget for a long-term commitment, Sears says.
CNMI says that through the masterclass project, which was part of its diversity and inclusion roadmap launched in 2019, 50 hairdressers were trained. It now expects brands to hire those 50 trained hairdressers, and confirmed it is willing to develop and support more initiatives that promote inclusive activities backstage at shows. The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, the industry's governing body in France, said it usually does not interfere with backstage staff as this is the responsibility of each house. The organisation puts brands that need support in contact with its brand partner, L’Oréal Paris. The British Fashion Council and Council of Fashion Designers of America did not respond before the time of publication.
Employing hairdressers with at least a baseline understanding of how to style textured hair is important: brands risk being called out on social media by models if something isn’t right, says Show Division’s Sears, who used to be a model herself. “As a model, as soon as you sit in the chair and the [hairstylist] touches your hair, you know whether or not that person knows what they’re doing, so you start to feel insecure. Can they not do my hair? Is this going to be an issue?” It’s also a risk for the hairdresser’s reputation if nobody on the team can work with textured hair. “It would be professional suicide to put something terrible down the runway, because the first question is ‘God, who did that?’” says Giorgina Jolly, agent and founder of creative agency Jolly Collective.
A lack of expertise can cause long-term damage to a model’s hair — a big concern for models who do the full month-long fashion week circuit. Model Ariish Wol, who has worked with brands such as Mugler, Marine Serre, Rejina Pyo and Ester Manas, prefers that brands not get too creative with her hair if they don’t know how to take care of the texture. “Putting things in and taking things out breaks and damages our hair. We need products that are healthier and more protective for Black hairstyles. I want to know that I’m protected from any harmful chemicals.” Stylist Martinez says models should be asked what their preferences are, and stylists should use heat protectant when styling and leave-in conditioner when removing extensions.
Specialists or generalists?
While experts agree that all hairstylists should have a baseline understanding of how to work with all hair textures, the conversation about whether brands should specifically hire hairstylists who are Black and specialise in textured hair is nuanced.
“We’ve integrated specialists in braids and textured hair who are used to working extremely quickly,” says Luc Royer, talent agent and producer at creative agency Total World. “We never know what the hairstyle of the girl would be coming from a previous show, so my goal is to ensure the best result the fastest way possible.” Similarly, Show Division has noted an uptake in braid specialists and hairstylists who specialise in textured hair. Hairstylists who work across all hair types come at a premium, Sears notes.
Some argue that it’s better to give opportunities to Black specialists. “I’ve had people say, ‘oh I need to learn to do braids now’. It’s OK not to know how to do all hair. Braiding is like an art form. [Those] opportunities need to be given to people of colour,” says Rosie-Grace Smith, lead braider for Saul Nash’s London show.
“You need to get people from the community to advise you on the best way to include people from their community,” adds Nat Bury, lead barber for the show. “If you want us to be represented, let us represent ourselves. The more people backstage from the community that have the skillset, the better taken care of people from the community will be when it comes to their hair.” That way, the end product will feel authentic, they agree.
Working with people from his community in London allows Nash to be more hands-off. “The team understands [my vision] because everyone understands the references or has lived them in some way,” he says. He counts Bury and Smith as friends, having worked with them both for many seasons. “It’s family vibes backstage,” says Bury. “Some of the models still go to Rosie and Nat to get their hair done outside of the shows,” adds Nash.
However, there’s still space for white hairstylists to learn to work with textured hair. For the past three seasons, Labrum London worked with Johanna Cree Brown, a white hairstylist who founder Dumbuya says has flexible skills. Dumbuya and creative consultant Ib Kamara instructed her with the creative vision and provided guidance for where to go for extensions, for example. “I’d never close the door on someone just because they’re white or Black. I’m just like, ‘this is what I want. Can you do it? Yeah? Then these are the guides and what I’m looking for,’” says Dumbuya.
For stylist Poleon, it’s about having both Black hairstylists who can work on models from their community at a specialist level but also all hairstylists having a baseline understanding. “It’s now become a sort of micro-segregation, where you’ve got white artists who won’t even touch the Black girls or anyone of colour. And then they’re hiring Black people or a team of braiders who only do the Black girls. It’s impossible for the head artist to do everybody, but at least have the skill or a baseline understanding,” he says.
While specialist-level expertise will likely allow brands to deliver much more creative and intricate looks on the runway, experts agree that the bare minimum should be for at least part of the hair team to be confident working with textured hair — which is still surprisingly rare in the industry. “We’re not talking about doing something extravagant,” says Sears. “We’re talking about just making the playing field level for everyone.”
With additional reporting by Kati Chitrakorn
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