Wigs: the glorious resurgence (thanks to the ‘celebrities’) of a denosted accessory
Beth Ditto (Gossip) taking off her wig while performing in front of the Mad Cool crowd to the voice of “I'm roasting alive!”. And Cardi B doing her own thing at London's Wireless Festival, going one step further than her and throwing her out into the crowd, then taking to Instagram with a post of her asking for it back: "I got carried away." These two recent wig reveals (the gesture of dramatically removing the wig and revealing oneself) confirm something more than a trend that was already intuited. Wigs are worn and their use takes on new meanings. They have less and less to do with hiding, moving away from the taboo of a function linked to concealing hair problems or stigmatized hair types such as the afro, and becoming one more accessory to take into account in beauty routines and even in new status symbol.
The tag '#wig' (wig) collects more than 5.5 million results on Instagram. On YouTube, countless tutorials are displayed when entering the same search, they explain how to place, manufacture or customize them. And statistics such as that of Statista that ensure that by 2023 the wig and extensions business will be valued at 10,000 million dollars (almost 9,000 million euros) confirm the phenomenon.
Its origin dates back to the Egyptians, but wigs have reached our most recent imaginary in various ways. Through black women, who have worn them for centuries, as well as the extensions or turbans with which they have covered their hair oppressed because they were considered to "preserve public morals" by not showing it. The stigma persists that Afro hair is less professional, that even from the media and advertising it is manipulated to make it look more Eurocentric. Through artists such as Cher, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry or many drag queens, who have used them as iconic expressive elements in their performances. We have seen (unknowingly) actresses and actors on the red carpet and events, creating false expectations about an image that is not real. And also with the same desire not to make it obvious that they are wearing them, they have been worn by people with alopecia or diseases whose treatments, such as chemotherapy, have caused them to lose hair. But the conversation has changed and now, as the aforementioned data shows, wigs are talked about without shame, with pride and considering it more as an everyday option.
Keira Knightley publicly recounted her experience wearing them for five years while she healed her hair after undergoing so many changes and treatments by her profession. In Spain, the actress Najwa Nimri has also spoken openly about the use she often makes of them. In an interview with S Moda, he explained that he suffered from trichotemnomania, "obsession with shaving his hair", and that he often pulls wigs for events and to build his characters. All these gestures have contributed to normalize them, but who has made them fashionable?
Kylie Jenner thinks so herself. The little girl from the Kardashian clan said it in an interview with Marie Claire: "I started the wig thing", referring to the first of all her appearances with colorful wigs in which she wore an aquamarine blue color designed by Tokyo Styles, her hair stylist who now also does them for artists like Cardi B, valued at $3,000. Although it is true that Kylie has made colored wigs part of her identity, also extending them to her sisters Kim and Khloe, her statement was criticized and has been dismissed as a negative gesture trying to appropriate a cultural custom of black women.
Others like Shay Ashual, one of the world's most sought-after wig creators, believe that credit belongs to Beyoncé. “She made the wearing of wigs openly accepted, and she created demand for lace front wigs among individual consumers, previously used mostly in film and theater. Wig companies saw this as an opportunity to get in the game and go mainstream,” she told Vogue UK. But Queen B has not escaped criticism from the defenders of natural Afro hair either, who understand it as hypocritical that in songs like Reformation the artist talks about embracing her "baby hair" and her "afro curls" but that she does it with wig as happened in the 2016 Superbowl, wasting a historic occasion to give it real visibility. According to her own admission, that year she has a collection of more than 30 and the total value of them, according to media and experts, could be around a million dollars.
@LPNH Absolutely idiotic take. What will a kid learn doing hours of menial tasks when they can be learning how to b… https://t.co/MvrXniNbfL
— BBPhotoKid Tue Jun 08 14:27:15 +0000 2021
More in line with the style of Kylie Jenner's, the trend is manifested on Instagram. Between the fun and the idea of appearing in each post with a completely new image (different styling, makeup and color and haircut) that seems so typical of the era of digital immediacy and the fight for 'likes' . All you have to do is dive into the '#wigs' label to observe the changing colors: from pastel tones, whites that would need impossible bleaching, unicorn-effect hair, or neon-like solid colors like those used by YouTuber and Instagrammer Amanda Eising (more than a million of followers), clone to Kylie Jenner. "The effect of celebrities like the Kardashians, who openly wear wigs, has resulted in an increase in consumers who want to wear them for fun, to change their appearance for an event or simply for a night out," they summarized from HotHair, distributor of wigs and hair accessories, to The Guardian.
In Spain the trend is not as widespread but it has another famous advocate who wants to follow the American example. The singer Soraya Arnelas has recognized in several interviews and also through her networks that she has a collection of more than 25 copies. “It still amazes me that the vast majority of people find it weird to wear wigs. Our lifelong artists have used them, the Americans that we always use as an example use them every day. But if we use the Spanish ones… The wigs save us time and money, and we also make those who unfortunately use them for health reasons see it more normalized”, he explained with a promotional publication of a Spanish wig and extensions firm.
It's not just a matter of influencers. Wigs are also having their moment on the catwalks. As Leah Harper tells in an article about this unexpected summer trend in The Guardian, at London Fashion Week, the SS19 collections by Paria Farzaneh, Asai for Fashion East or Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood and the SS20 collection by Martine Rose already anticipated it. Colourful, homogeneous and dark wigs or hairpieces on natural hair were part of the proposals that accompanied the garments.
The furor has also spread to stores such as Urban Outfitters, which has sold out of two pink and purple bob styles, and Selfridges department store, where according to Harper, HotHair has set up a point of sale where they sell both products natural and synthetic hair with prices ranging between “115 and 995 pounds” (regular price on other online sales platforms such as Wigs.com or Voguewigs, Caitlyn Jenner's brand). Although there are tutorials on the internet with tricks to modify cheap models for sale on Amazon, where you can find some lower-quality synthetic parts for around 50 or 80 euros, the average price range is still high and not up to par. all the pockets that want to indulge, which ends up turning them into a status symbol. Will wigs become the new favorite object of desire for beauty addicts?
Tags: Wigs|hair trends
