The Wigs at Louis Vuitton
bella | Oct 09, 2009 | Comments 63
I’m oversensitive. I can admit it.
I’ve been told that my whole life. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better at covering it up, but I’m still a pretty sensitive Piscean soul. Quick to feel empathy, quick to love, quick to be offended. So maybe I’m not the best bella to respond to the hot new style strutting down the runway at the Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week. The style statement? Oversize afro wigs on all the models. Which are being called brilliantly cartoonish by the WWD.
Like I said, I’m oversensitive. To me, my hair isn’t comic relief, it isn’t “cartoonish,” it isn’t a style statement. It grows out of my head this way. So my general response to people in afro wigs, at sports games, on Halloween, is The People’s Eyebrow and a we-are-not-amused attitude. It irks me. Am I wrong?
I saw these pics over at one of my favorite blogs, NY Mag’s The Cut, and my eyes practically rolled themselves on out of my face. Really, LV? Afro wigs are what’s hot in the streets now? Is this an attempt to be more inclusive?
Hey – at least there was one model of color in the show, right? Edited 2:45 p.m. — I stand corrected — there were several models of color in the show. Click here to see the complete WWD slideshow, more black models hit the runway towards the show’s finale, it appears.
I dunno, y’all. Talk amongst yourselves. Am I being oversensitive, as per usual? Or should I be delighted that afros are making waves at Paris Fashion Week this year?
It is only “cartoonish” (doll-like is how I’d phrase it) because of the bows. I think it is a cool idea, nothing offensive or degrading about it whatsoever!
Instead of everyone being so hypersensitive and whiny, embrace the fact that a huge designer like LV chose to style their models in bad ass afros!
I dont see anything wrong with this either. It’s not like the fashion industry does not make other races features into cartoony images. Its art…anything goes and everything is exaggerated.
If we were to analyze everything from the point of view ” they might be out to get us” one could always come up with an explanation that fits.
@ Mae-
)) good attitude!
I study fashion, but you don’t need to study fashion to know that most high end fashion shows are over top,the people that are offended obviously have not seen a lot of high fashion shows because if they have they would not be offended, maybe if you looked at other catwalks by other designers like mulberry at london fashion week you would of seen they had a doll like/cartoonish image with the models and they had big frizzy hair, look at link
http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designers_catwalk.aspx?designerid=225&seasonid=18#pic0
seems as if black women on this site seem to be overly sensitive
to no.32 EARTHSEED
“Why not just get models with afros? There are PLENTY of runway worthy naturals on the streets of any major city USA”
what you said would be more hramfull to black models than good.why don’t we change the world afro to straight hair, There are plenty of women on the streets of u.s.a who have naturally long straight hair why use models like Naomi Campbell who has there hair straighten and is always wearing extensions to do catwalk shows and magazines, when you can get the real thing?
ONE designer plopped afros on the model’s heads. ONE. 1. Uno.
No kidding you are quick to be offended.
I guess they figure,brown people are walking around making a mockery of their brand we’ll make a mockery of brown people(Not that brown people are the only ones) ,but why are we on blast?? I tell you what you can do,Don’t Buy LV cause if this is not a reason to be appalled what is?Buy a fly canvas AfroBella bag. Got some of those I’ll buy.lol..Watching a Fake story about some balloon kid with thirsty parents while President Obama is addressing the nation about rebuilding New Orleans gotta wonder about the timing on that. YES IT’S OFFENSIVE Duh!!One designer is One 1 Uno to many.
I agree with what someone said earlier – its kinda ironic that the black models need to get their hair relaxed just to book a job, and then model what their hair would look like because LV deems it fashionable and marketable atm. smh.
I undurstand what you mena Bella and i have had my fro all my life and i think its cool to see it al LV’s show. ofcourse it is to make themselves stand out, dont think it has anything to do with bein’in style. but i like it haha.
dont care what te papers or whatever say!
Lovely to see the blond and red fro’s cool.
and if their moking (witch i don’t think so) so be it.
Honestly i’ve gotten the most mean commments and stuff bout the fro from black people :S.. so whateva..
I LOVE IT!
Yes you are being o.ver.ly sensitive. It’s fashion, it’s drama, it’s art, it’s extravagance, it’s outlandish. It is purposely cartoonish. That doesn’t mean it’s supposed to reflect an attitude about Black people. It is not a racial thing. It’s not about you. And yes, I am Black.
I styled a similar look for a promotional event I ran in NYC. I think the look is stand-out, doll-like and fun!
“FabGab”:http://fabgabblog.com/2010/03/marc-jacobs-copied-my-styling/
I don’t find this offensive, really. It’s kind of artsy, and it seems it was meant to be fun and different… I mean, you guys remember this, right? http://narratethenatural.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/korean-fro-flavour/
I found that flattering. Unusual, but flattering, though obviously a different context…
However, I have to disagree with people who say it’s silly to be offended. I am not offended by this, but i understand why someone with different experiences and a different perspective might be. The comparison to black women who wear weaves just doesn’t cut it, we live in a society where blacks are a minority, and women with afro textured hair an even further minority. It means something different when a white person wears an afro than when a black woman wears straight hair. It shouldn’t, but given the history of our society, it simply does.
[...] her official site, she works in recycled materials and was inspired to create her afro pieces by the very Louis Vuitton models I questioned last year. Who [...]
I’m with you, Bella. I didn’t want to do it, but I call Shenanigans on Louis Vuitton. If LV were really trying to be inclusive and celebratory of Black hair, I doubt the wigs would have been so gigantic, oddly colored, and freakishly adorned with a giant bow.