Black Crowns

Photographer Michelle Marshall focuses her lens on the faded beings, sharpening the silhouettes. Opaque corners become chiselled angles belonging to boys adorned by Black, beautiful crowns. Consisting of angle-like helix-shaped strands in differing sizes, each crown is unique. The individuality of afro textured hair, previously generalised, is made apparent. Groomer Jennie Roberts chooses to build upon their flourishing characters, creating edgy, sculpted hairstyles that pay homage to the boys’ cultural identities. They can choose whether to wear their crowns or not, and that’s significant.

Black people face discrimination based on their textured hair at work, at school, on the street, and even at the hair salon. Cutting and styling afro textured hair is often an optional course for hairdressers in training, so many never learn. Jennie, who also works as an Afro Textured Hair Educator, says she hopes the industry will start to work with textured hair instead of against it. Black models are frequently made to feel like the problem when they encounter inexperienced hair stylists during shoots.

With this editorial, Michelle and Jennie set out to honour the backgrounds of the models. Jennie notes, "I wanted to do something that was relevant to the boys rather than stripping them of their identity which is what so often happens when they have a shaved head. Something edgy but that represents their culture as well, without getting too political. I’m fed up with preaching to people, I just want it to be the norm. This was just me, as a mixed-race woman and hairdresser, looking at their textured hair thinking ‘how can I make this edgier?’. It would never occur to me to Europeanise Black people, ever. It makes me really cross when I see that happening. Afro textured hair can do so many great things. People just need to learn".