VERNON FRANÇOIS ON OPENING DOORS & NURTURING PEOPLE

“For me, equity for people of color in the fashion industry means striving to achieve the very definition of that, which is being fair and impartial – also known as creating a level playing field. It means opening doors and nurturing people – in front of the camera, behind the scenes, in planning and decision-making environments – based on their talent no matter the culture, heritage, race or creed. It’s about being inclusive and eliminating bias.

Here are some of my recommendations for industry gatekeepers:

• All aspiring hair stylists should be taught how to work with all hair textures – kinky, coily, curly as well as straight and wavy – not as a specialist subject or an optional add-on. Anyone sitting in a hairstylist’s chair, whether on a professional shoot or in a salon, should be made to feel special and that the stylist is lucky to be working with them. All to often this is not the case due to lack of training which can have devastating effects – physically and emotionally – as many of my clients have told me.

• Look, listen and learn from people all around you. If you don’t know something, ask. There is always the opportunity to understand more, which will elevate the quality of your work. People care about authenticity and want to see accurate, aspirational representations of what their hair actually does, and how versatile it is, now more than ever before. This is why social media is so alive with real people embracing their hair’s true texture. There’s no need to smooth hair outlines in post-production – let’s embrace frizz, because it creates shape, volume, and is part of textured hair, which is not a bad thing.

• Be what you say you are. If you tell others that you’re fair and impartial but have only got one kind of person on your team, take action and change that, right away.”

–Vernon François, Global Celebrity Hairstylist and Educator