Piled high, the intricate braids on our latest cover were an homage to Amandla Stenberg's botanical surroundings. Below, we speak to hair stylist Issac Poleon on how he created these works of art
On the cover of Vogue Scandinavia’s June/July issue, Hollywood superstar Amandla Stenberg stands statuesque with her arms outstretched, surrounded by sprawling foliage. Stenberg’s hair is arranged like an ornate diadem on top of her head: braided strands fuse together in bow-like shapes as her baby hairs delicately meander across her forehead. The mastermind behind Stenberg’s look is Issac Poleon, a hairstylist from South London, who’s quickly made a name for himself for his ability to work with Afro and European hair textures to create abstract pieces of art.
“I met a perfect stranger, who led me to a hair stylist, who later became my mentor in the hair industry,” he says casually. Poleon may have had an enigmatic start, but he’s since worked his hair magic on some of the biggest names in the business. From crafting a wig into a Catherine wheel for Jourdan Dunn to creating a braided flower crown for actress Gabrielle Union, Poleon’s hair styling skills are a cut above the rest.
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Photo: Markn
Explaining that he likes to work in an “organic” way, Poleon went with an intuitive approach when it came to sculpting Stenberg’s hair. He looked to the shoot’s botanical setting as a starting point: London’s Kew Gardens, home to over 50,000 species of plants. “I’m an earth sign and feel a great connection to nature,” he muses, “I often draw a lot of inspiration from plants and greenery.”
While Stenberg was in her first look, Poleon and his assistants swiftly pinned her hair into the cover-image style. “I wanted to create something that was individual to Amandla,” he says. In other shots, Stenberg’s hair snakes into a stacked bundle with splayed ends, mimicking the angular palm fronds behind them. “[The styles] reflected the imperfections of a plant and [took] shape where the hair felt most natural,” says Poleon.
Photo: Markn
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Photo: Markn
Throughout the fashion industry, hair artistry is having a moment. Last season, Simone Rocha’s models sported reverse braids tied into knots, matching the neat bows that trailed from under their eyes. Elsewhere, self-described Hair Engineer Cyndia Harvey took the term lace front to new levels by inserting lace fabric along models’ edges for Mugler’s AW23 offering. From glittery middle partings to pearl-embellished wigs, when it comes to runway hairdos, it seems that the current vibe is the more theatrical, the better.
However, cultures worldwide have been experimenting with hair for centuries (think Marie Antoinette’s era), so why is the craft presently seeing an upswing? Poleon says it’s down to today’s social climate. “[It’s] a reflection of the world we currently live in; my sector plays a large part in [communicating] the stories that are told through fashion imagery.”
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Photo: Markn
He knows all too well that hair can carry multiple narratives, especially for people in the Black community. “[There’s a] lack of knowledge in the educational systems that teach the Hairdressing NVQ and endless amounts of hairstylists who are unqualified to handle Afro textures,” he explains. “[As] a Black creative who’s qualified across all hair textures, specialising in Afro hair contributes to dispelling discriminatory views.”
As the industry continues to expand and develop, Poleon thinks that hair artistry as a modern form of activism is only set to gain momentum. “The creative capacity for hair artists is widening; individuals are pushing the boundaries,” he says confidently. It seems where Poleon and his contemporaries are concerned, hair is a subject that’s most definitely layered.
