Who says you can’t change your wig three times in one night? Last night, Monica proved you not only can, but in fact, you should! Along with Brandy, who wore long, silver braids, Mo closed day two of ESSENCE’s Festival’s Evening Concert Series in three entirely different hairstyles within their hour-long performance.
“The opening look featured a fringe that introduced an edgier, more fashion-forward presence, immediately setting a bold tone,” her hairstylist Ricky Wing tells ESSENCE. Shrouded in Schiaparelli, her hair was accessorized with a branch-like bronze headpiece to match the accents in her wardrobe.
For the second look, Wing switched her into a bowl cut pixie. “We paid homage to her iconic ‘Miss Thang’ era with a refined short cut,” Wing says about the style. “It’s a nostalgic nod that honored a defining moment in her career while feeling modern and intentional.”
It’s a style he debuted a few weeks prior (as if a hint to her festival hair) as a reinterpretation of her 1995 pixie cut, but longer and fuller. This time, however, it was paired with peachy summer nudes and a checkerboard manicure.
Meanwhile, “the final look embraced simplicity,” he says. Her blazer was asymmetrical, but her hair transformed into a classic, straight, jet-black middle-part style cascading below her derriere. Unlike her fringe, Wing prioritized clean lines, a sleek finish, and polished execution.
“This look allowed her natural presence to take center stage and bring the visual journey to a sophisticated close,” he says. With all three hairstyles telling the full story of who Mo was, is, and is becoming, “her hair honored who she is as an artist.”
Author: India Espy-Jones
Read the original article on Essence.
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