New York Fashion Week is not over yet but it's time to take a moment and applaud all the natural hairstyles that have appeared at the Spring 2016 shows. Black and biracial models with different hair types and textures, including curly, wavy and kinky, were turning heads as they hit the runways with their magnificent manes.
Big-name designers such as Carolina Herrera, Reem Acra and Tommy Hilfiger tapped more models with Afro-textured hair to walk the runways than we've seen in years past. Meanwhile, the intimate presentations of Brother Vellies, Rosie Assoulin and Tanya Taylor proved that you don't have to have straight, blonde hair to rock ready-to-wear designs.
Many black models feel pressured to chemically straighten their curls or wear long hair extensions just to book shows in an industry known for its lack of diversity. Models like Nykhor Paul and Maria Borges, who fully embrace their natural hair, prove that you can simply be yourself both on and off the runway and not sabotage your career.
"I feel like I’ve proved that I can be beautiful with or without the hair," Borges told Vogue last month. "Since I've gone natural, I feel younger and fresher."
Hairstylists backstage at Fashion Week are also embracing this opportunity to create awe-inspiring, natural hair looks. "Everybody is so different in this collection. Some girls had curly hair, some had Afros, some had straight hair and some guys had dreads," said Sabrina Michals, the director of creative styling at Bumble and Bumble, about the models at Brother Vellies. "We wanted to enhance the texture and make them look as beautiful as possible. Aurora [James, Brother Vellies creative director,] never brushes her own hair and she likes that. She wanted everybody to look like they did their hair themselves, on top of enhancing their natural texture."
Hopefully, this will be the season where a major movement towards inclusion of all colors, textures and shapes on the runway is made.
See all the gorgeous natural hair moments at New York Fashion Week below and stay tuned to HuffPost for more examples of #NYFW4ALL.
This season, HuffPost Lifestyle will disrupt New York Fashion Week to ensure that it is an inclusive event for people of all skin tones, genders, sizes, shapes and personalities. Over the next week, we'll be highlighting designers, models and runway shows that are working to democratize NYFW. Help us make fashion week an event for EVERYONE by spreading our hashtag #NYFW4ALL and be sure to check out all of our coverage.
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