What do your roots mean to you?
My fellow fairy mermaid inner goddess spirit animal freak flag sis FKA Twigs just asked you a question, so you’d better answer.
The inscrutable dancer turned singer turned creative director just threw a party themed around braids for her new Instagram-exclusive e-zine. Hold my coat — it’s called AVANTgarden and therefore, I am already fanning myself down in an excited frenzy.
On Twigs’ Friday Insta-story we saw a beautiful rainbow of black and white, younger and older, coily and wavy, women and men, blonde and brunette, coming joining magical forces within one swanky London neon light nightclub for the sole purpose of celebrating one thing: braids. The question of the night: What do braids mean to you?
“Braids mean self-care, maintenance; they remind me of being a kid…” one woman reminisced.
“Braids give me a sense of power,” mentioned another. “I embrace myself when I have braids…”
“Braids mean to me self-acceptance,” claims yet another woman with beautifully adorned cornrows. “The first time I ever had braids put it, it was the first time I really felt beautiful.”
The first time I ever had braids put it, it was the first time I really felt beautiful.
FKA herself has had quite a bit to say about creative expression through her hair, fashion, and art. “Textures apply to everything I do. Even within my music,” she has said. “I like smooth things, and then hard and fluffy things, all giving them their place to shine.” With the release of her new e-zine focused on hair nostalgia, hopefully the blend of textures, both literally and figuratively, will have a positive impact #fortheculture of Instagram users, especially influential and impressionable millennial.
Braids mean self-care, maintenance; they remind me of being a kid…
With more than 800 million monthly users on the social media platform, creating an Instagram-only e-zine — with editing by Suzannah Pettigrew, styling by Matthew Josephs, hairstyling by Rio Sreedharan and photography by R + D — is nothing short of brilliant.
As far as creative direction is concerned, think: late ’80s, early ’90s black hair magazines you snatch from a pile while waiting in the salon to get your perm. While most of us in the NaturallyCurly community don’t want to think about the relaxer portion of the day, thinking back on memories in the beauty shop certainly can be nostalgic at the very least. Complete with iconic illustrations of afro picks and spray bottles, the title “Roots, Shock, Beauty” is fitting. Perfectly decorated coifs showcasing true diversity in the protective style shows also succeeds in showing the fashion-forward timelessness of it all.
Like every single one of Twigs’ projects, this one also gives me a sense of elation knowing that one of my sisters in creativity was one of the first, if not the only (to date”>, to put her stamp on the idea. Issue 1 of AVANTgarden, Roots, Shock, Beauty, is available now.
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What do your roots mean to you?
How have you embraced your culture and style through your hair?
Post your ideas in the comment section — let us know. Follow us on Facebook to see what we’re talking about right now.
Credits:
Creative Director: FKA twigs @fkatwigs
Editor: Suzannah Pettigrew @suz_p
Styling: Matthew Josephs @matthew_josephs
Hair: Rio Sreedharan @rio_hair
Casting: FKA twigs @fkatwigs and Olivia Kaifa @livokai
Photography and post production: R + D @reecendean
MUA: Bea Sweet @beasweetbeauty Set Design: Suzannah Pettigrew @suz_p
Models: Chanel @chanellygirl / Naomi @_flowerchildx / Olivia @livokai / James @j_magz / Malick @ssandroidx / Kaner @kanerflex / Vanessa @vanessaohenlen / Jourdan @jourdancopeland / Rachellé @rachellehollandxx
Logo: Matt de Jong @go_dejong
Layout: FKA twigs @fkatwigs / Suzannah Pettigrew @suz_p / Matt de Jong @go_dejong
Illustrations: Roxie Warder @roxiepandora
For more hair and pop culture commentary, follow me on Instagram @devrivelazquez
