Naeemah LaFond is determined to bridge the way-too-wide education gap on Black hair.
After hearing many horror stories from Black fashion models about hairstylists backstage or on photo shoot sets not adequately trained to work with their hair type, the hairstylist — who’s known for creating statement-making hair looks for fashion editorials, runways and campaigns — organized the first-ever educational “Texture on Set” event, happening Monday, March 11, in New York City’s Brooklyn borough.
According to Fashionista, hair professionals have long asked LaFond to teach a workshop on textured hair in the fashion industry. While she had always considered it, she didn’t decide to implement the idea until she had a conversation with the members of her mentee group, Black on Set.
“We talk about everything regarding working in fashion: How to get the jobs, how to keep the jobs, how to assist and just the do’s and don’ts of working in fashion and being on set,” LaFond told Fashionista. “And [my mentees] were all asking, ‘But what about the actual hair? Where do we learn how to do textured hairstyling for editorial work?’ And I’m like, okay, this is really the sign that [the Texture on Set event] needs to happen. And I’m ready to do it.”
Highlights of the full-day masterclass event include a live photo shoot and a step-by-step demonstration of working with textured hair for photo shoots and the runway, an in-person Q&A session with LaFond and a panel discussion featuring industry experts – such as Cosmopolitan beauty editor-at-large Julee Wilson; Jessica Cruel, the chief editor of Allure; and fashion model Danielle Mareka – about the subtleties of working with natural textures.
LaFond cited a misconception that working with Black hair requires a lot of time and effort in hectic settings, leading to models being overlooked or left out of photo shoots entirely.
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