7 Controversial Fashion Week Hairstyles That Wouldn’t Fly Today

Fashion Week brings a host of exciting first looks at new designs and cool beauty trends. This major industry event, especially in recent years, also introduces lots of controversy — and we are not just talking about an occasional model tripping and falling on the runway. It’s much deeper than that.

While some designers have opted to embrace individuality and allow models to wear their hair in its natural state, there are others who still prefer each girl to have exactly the same hairstyle. But those matching hairdos are not always crowd pleasers.

Case in point: the Marc Jacobs Spring 2017 show. The designer sent models down his runway in a swirl of pastel faux dreadlocks. Many people were outraged, calling Jacobs out (yet again) for cultural appropriation. Just when you thought he would clear things up, matters only got worse.

Jacobs took to Instagram in an attempt to defend himself, saying, “I don’t see color or race — I see people” and “Funny how you don’t criticize women of color for straightening their hair. I respect and am inspired by people and how they look.”

His comments only added more fumes to a hairy situation that was already ablaze.

Not only has this Jacobs runway hair fiasco opened the eyes of other designers to carefully consider the styles they choose to accentuate their collections, but the overwhelming response also urges them to give credit where it is rightfully due.

We can’t quite predict what we’ll see this Fashion Week, but based on the past, Jacobs hasn’t been the only designer to have raised eyebrows when it comes to hair. Keep reading to find out exactly what made these controversial runway hairstyles so controversial.

Models at the DKNY Spring 2015 show wore slicked-down “baby hairs,” which is a style historically worn by black women.

More baby hairs, coupled with a braided updo, were spotted on the Valentino Spring 2016 runway.

Back in 2012, a white model walked the runway at Max Mara during Milan Fashion Week wearing platinum blond dreadlocks.

There were even more faux dreadlocks in 1997 at Chanel’s Spring 1998 presentation.

During Paris Fashion Week, male models at the Rick Owens Fall 2014 fashion show sported do-rags, an accessory worn by black men to maintain their hair.

A model wore a massive Indian feather headdress in the Dame Trelise Cooper show at New Zealand Fashion Week 2014, sparking an immediate backlash and apology from the designer.

Read More:
People Are Obviously Unhappy About Marc Jacobs’s Dreadlocks
Chanel’s Latest Campaign Includes Bantu Knots and Cornrows
Meet the Woman Who Dyed 12,500 Yards of Faux Dreadlocks for the Marc Jacobs Show

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