Taiba Taiba: “You can use Black models in a shoot but if the production is all white we have to question the reasons behind how and why we are used”
If you need fresh braids, one person comes to mind and that person is Taiba Akhuetie, better known as Taiba Taiba, the CEO of creative hair brand Keash London, which has evolved from pop-up braids and blow-dry bar to a revered brand and agency. Having created hair looks for the likes of FKA Twigs and Jorja Smith, Taiba is now exhibiting her works of art for all to see.
Today, Taiba celebrates the launch of her first exhibition titled We Needs Some more Black In Hair which is open now at The Cockatoo downstairs at East London’s Bistrotheque. Below, we spoke to the mogul about her earliest memories of hair, the importance of Black visibility in the creative industry and the role that social media has had in her success.
Perfect: What is your earliest memory of hair styling?
Taiba Taiba: I don’t have a specific vivid memory but I grew up seeing my sisters, mum and friends getting their hair done. We went to one ‘Auntie’s’ house to the next. I would just watch how they all braided and slowly picked up on the different styles they specialised in and how they all played with colour differently.
Perfect: Can you talk us through the exhibition name: We Needs Some more Black In Hair.
Taiba Taiba: It’s really important for me for Black people to have visibility in the industry. Not only do we need more Black people in production, we need to be seen. Our hair, our skin needs to be seen as beautiful.
Perfect: What can the fashion industry do to better itself?
Taiba Taiba: Think about all elements. You can use Black models in a shoot but if the production is all white we have to question the reasons behind how and why we are used. I think Black people are still seen in some way as ‘other’ and we can be used to spice things up.
Perfect: The exhibition features sustainable pieces of work that have been created from found objects. Why was this important for you?
Taiba Taiba: To be honest I’ve never been about waste and that is a direct result of having Nigerian parents. We never get rid, we find a solution of how something can be used or how someone else may value it.
Perfect: You have said that you expect people to take selfies with your work at the exhibition. When you create a piece, do you have social media in the back of your mind and how it will be received?
Taiba Taiba: Social media doesn’t come to the forefront of my mind but people do. Saying that, I have to admit social media allows me to get my work out to the mass but I don’t do it for likes, I simply do it because I get really, really get excited seeing things come together in real life and I enjoy seeing the impact I’ve had as a Black woman.
Perfect: If you could eradicate social media, would you do it and why?
Taiba Taiba: No, because it’s helped me a lot. I do wish that likes and views were not visible from the get go and it was used to show work so that any interaction you have with people regarding it is all based on an organic relationship and respect for what you do. People need to like things not because other people do and that’s the main issue with social media now.
Writer Amelia White.
