Taiba Akhuetie, the expert braiding artist, sees Black hair traditions as more than just grooming and upkeep. To her, beauty and artistry are intertwined into every braid, loc, and sew-in. In fact, she believes that ancestral hairstyles tell stories and one can pinpoint a person’s background from their style of braid. To highlight this splendor, Akhuetie has created a bold and unconventional line of garments that bring a new meaning to the term “body hair”. She procured bundles of synthetic hair from various hair shops across London that cater to Afro-Caribbean customers and masterfully dyed and sewed them into a variety of super textural and avant-garde garments, often employing advanced hand-stitching techniques. Her inaugural “hair collection”, Bundles of Paradise, includes Bob Mackie-esque cocktail dresses, men’s trousers, and even an office-ready blazer (for the adventurous).
Akhuetie argues that synthetic hair plays an oversized role in modern Black hairstyles, and she strove to celebrate synthetic hair and the Black hair shops where “bundles” can be purchased from. She explains that those shops are seen as restricted to only Black people and not accessible to others. Hence, her stab at normalizing the materials through her hair collection. This is not the first time Akhuetie has turned hair into mesmerizing, three-dimensional objects. She first created what she calls “braided objects” in 2020, which exist somewhere between trompe l’oeil and fine art. A chair of hers gives off the illusion of being created out of nothing but snaking spirals of cornrowed hair, and the frame of a mirror is essentially hot-pink braids constructed with varying levels of thickness and time-tested techniques.
Akhuetie prefers the term “hair artist” over “hair stylist”. She explains that she can take traditional hair styling and turn it into something that is a bit more outside of the box. Her crown jewel is a labor-extensive play on the iconic Louis Vuitton barrel bag, which was purchased by pop superstar Rihanna. However, she does not necessarily envision the garments featured in Bundles of Paradise as ready-to-wear, per se. She has turned down multiple requests from people looking to buy a piece, as she is selective about who she accepts commissions from. In her opinion, these are art pieces deserving of a big moment, like a music video or performance. Her dream clients include Beyoncé and Elton John.
