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| Our model Grace |
Still in the 21st century, the idea of black skin tones and afro hair is a difficult one for some stylists in the modelling industry.
You would think there would be endless numbers of hair stylists nowadays who are able to and have the skill to tame and maintain afro hair. Sadly not.
In 2015, supermodel Jourdan Dunn revealed that she has had to resort to wearing wigs to give her natural afro hair a break as it has been damaged from all of the heat, pulling and tugging backstage.It was actually her own stylist who recommended she gave it a break.
She opts for natural tones for her new hair styles and you would think that it was her real hair!
Sadly models with afro hair still feel that they need to take along their own product and equipment in case the stylist backstage is inexperienced and unsure on what they are doing. But should black models even need to have their hair messed with? Is there a reason why they cannot let their fro hang naturally?
Prada allowed this to happen in their Autumn/Winter 2015 fashion show. Model Lineisy Montero was a previously unknown model who walked in their show. The fashion icon left Montero’s hair in it’s natural state showing that black hair doesn’t have to be heated and pulled for hours before the model hits the runway.
Luckily though there are women all across the world who are now embracing their gorgeous locks. This article in the Huffington Post shows a journey of a young teenage girl disliking her hair so much that she covered it by wrapping a tshirt around it and not letting anyone see it.
Celebrities and films across the years have definitely helped young black women to understand that sometimes natural is best. So why is this still not the case when styling for photoshoots and runway shows?
If you book a black model and press her hair to make it as straight as possible and ruin her original curls, why did you book her in the first place? The industry needs to start loving and embracing women’s curls just as much as they are themselves. Afro is in no way an unprofessional hairstyle nor is it distracting.
A new movement is in place called Team Natural. Hopefully over the next few years we will see an influx of afro in magazines and on the runway which have been left in its natural state without a pair of straighteners in site.
Gone are the days of covering up with wigs and here is the time where your afro is to be embraced.
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| Our model Natalie |