Award-winning hairstylist Naeemah LaFond hosted the third annual Texture On Set event, drawing over 300 attendees from the fashion and beauty industries. The one-day gathering focused on education, historical context, and fostering equity for curly and coily hair care. Sponsors including Olaplex and Oribe supported sessions led by experts like Christin Brown and Stacey Ciceron.
Founded by Naeemah LaFond, Texture On Set addressed long-standing inequities in handling textured hair on sets, runways, and in salons. LaFond, who has witnessed models' frustrations firsthand, created the event after years in the industry. “I was consistently hearing and seeing from models about their bad experiences on set,” she said. “Having worked in the industry for so long, I knew it wasn’t equitable.” Held on Sunday, the event featured Olaplex as presenting partner, with sponsorships from Oribe, Pattern Beauty, Dyson, Sharkbeauty, SalonCentric, and The Deoux. Professionals shared knowledge across generations to promote better working conditions. Curl specialist Christin Brown, an Olaplex Global Ambassador, led a tutorial on prioritizing hair care and models' humanity in styling. Textured hair educator Stacey Ciceron, Oribe Global Ambassador, demonstrated adapting sleek ponytail styles for blow-dried and wet curly hair. Makeup artist Michela Wariebi presented on Black hair history from the 16th century, emphasizing cultural context. “It’s very hard to be fully culturally competent without understanding the background of how we reached where we are,” Wariebi said. Hair legend Chuck Amos delivered a masterclass on iconic looks, such as Beyoncé’s Dangerously In Love album cover. The event concluded with awards: Sondrea Demry for Rising Visionary, Ursula Stephens for Industry Icon, and Itaysha Jordan for Living Legend. LaFond called for industry-wide collaboration. “We all need to come together to figure this out,” she said. “It’s about all of us collectively, saying, ‘This has to change in the industry.’”