Marc Jacobs Controversy & My Thoughts on WoC Hair

On Thursday afternoon, NYFW closed out with the most anticipated show of the season:Marc Jacobs. With a show that proved provocative in the best of nature, Marc Jacobs made headwaves on a topic not usually his beat – the model’s hair.

Faux locs seemed to once again be found on the heads of white models who cascaded down the runway, fueling a conversation that many (self included) have had time and time again regarding cultural appropriation.

Of course, news caught wind via social media, where many took to various platforms to express their outrage.

“An unknown black man/woman has dreads, it is assumed they smoke and/or are unprofessional. Marc Jacobs has a model with dreads, it’s boho chic,” one user wrote in a Twitter post.

And herein lies the problem I’ve found with fashion; the exclusiveness that rends such as hair and beauty and fashion have to certain demographics, and not to others. As a woman of color, I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve been judged for my hair, hair type, or way in which I express who I am. However, on models walking down a catwalk, it’s an invigorating sense of accomplishment…right?

Debate over cultural appropriation, a term that refers to the use of a minority group’s customs or culture by people who do not belong to it, has also been raging in circles beyond fashion.

As if the ouotrage over the models weren’t bad enough, Marc Jacobs took to Instagram to address the criticism. He wrote below a photo on his brand’s page: “All who cry ‘cultural appropriation’ or whatever nonsense about any race or skin color wearing their hair in any particular style or manner — funny how you don’t criticize women of color for straightening their hair. I respect and am inspired by people and how they look. I don’t see color or race — I see people.”

Um, excuse me? If we examine why women of color, predominately African-American women, straighten their hair, we’ll find a long list of racial injustice that has stretched for generation after generation. When natural hair was called “nappy” and felt like brillo pads, how we were deemed unprofessional in the workplace for having our natural hair showing, or how we just “looked better” with straightened hair. Women like Madame CJ Walker MAY have introduced perms and hair products into the community that many rave about; I, on the other hand, found this as the first of many stepping stones that women of color took to confirm that we, in fact, would subject ourselves to the standard society created for us. And how could we not conform, for what? Taunting eyes, horrible statements, and rejections from job interviews and work opportunities. For years, we straightened our hair because we had no CHOICE. Nowadays, the mental wary of what would happen if we just embraced our hair scares many. For the few of us that wear our hair natural (and yes, it’s a growing movement), we see how society is caught between a rock and a hard place on acceptance.

Lest we forget the statements made when Zendaya wore her faux locs. Lest we remember the history of America forcing people of color to assimilate to certain standards of beauty. To not see color is an exercising of privilege; a privilege, unfortunately, the oppressed do not get.

“It would be crazy to say that dreadlocks aren’t something that is part of black culture,” said Nelson Vercher, a hairstylist who has worked with models.

If anything, I would have slightly been okay with Jacob’s use of dreadlocks on models. I, however, can not stand behind his blatant ignorance of African-American women and their hair. It is not a touchy subject, but a subject that has become so jam-packed with content over hundreds of years of oppression, that one must understand all of this before sitting themselves at the table to discuss.

What do you think of Marc Jacob’s comments?