The essence of Black girl magic is complex. It lies in our resilience, it's apparent in our resourcefulness, and it shows in our hair, too. Who else can go from a big, fluffy 'fro to a sleek blowout, then back to Marley twists without missing a beat? I'll wait.
If Black girls are magic, then Laetitia Ky, a fashion designer from the Ivory Coast in West Africa, is a magician — but she doesn't use a wand or a top hat. Her mystical tools are simply her hands, her hair, and a few other props. Just take a look at her Instagram, currently followed by nearly 17,000 people. There, you'll see a series of braided hairstyles crafted to look like sculptures. Think: Hands, trees, dancers, an actual continent — and that's just the short list.
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Ky explained that she was inspired by African tribal hairstyles from centuries ago. (Yep, this is very similar to when Lupita Nyong'o channeled the motherland at the 2016 Met Gala.)
"They were giant, and I wondered how you could do that with hair," she says. The sculptures she creates be smaller, but she has Instagram to show them off — and just like her ancestors before her, she now has people in awe at how she manipulates hair the way that she does. Intrigued? Scroll on to see some of her styles — and to get a few secrets behind them, too.
Ky told Buzzfeed that she often uses pins, wool, and fabric to accomplish her looks, like this green, leafy tree.
Photo: Via @laetitiaky."You don't need too [many] accessories when your haircut can do the job," she captioned.
Photo: Via @laetitiaky.These hand-shaped braids — which Ky manipulated in several poses on her Instagram— took half a day to create, she told Buzzfeed.
Photo: Via @laetitiaky.Her International Dance Day style looked so lifelike.
Photo: Via @laetitiaky.New year, new 'do.
Photo: Via @laetitiaky.Perhaps the best bunny ear costume we've ever seen...
Photo: Via @laetitiaky."I come from Africa," Ky captioned this continent-inspired shot. (Which is complete with the most adorable Madagascar, of course.)
Photo: Via @laetitiaky.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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