FKA Twigs has created an Instagram zine that solely features afro hair styles and celebrates the beauty and uniqueness of black hair.
Using the platform’s slide function as ‘pages,’ Twigs has brought the zine bang into the age of social media by catering to an audience that uses their phone screens as a primary source of news, inspiration and entertainment.
The editorials in Avant Garden feature Twigs’ friends donning various afro hairstyles, from braids, to cornrows, to locks and there’s even a guy in a do-rag.
The pictures have a distinctly retro vibe, like a throwback to old ‘black’ hair magazines and corner-shop adverts. They are nostalgically glamorous, yet somehow still so current.
Twigs told Dazed in an interview on 13 October that she chose to host the zine on Instagram because she felt it would be “more impactful to create something like this, rather than put out a picture with some words underneath it, or retweet something.”
She also said she thought the zine would “spark a conversation.”
Evidently, Avant Garden will be an educational platform, as well as one that entertains and inspires.
On how the zine reflects the choices black women make about the way they style their hair, Twigs said: “I’m not saying, “get braids”. I’m saying embrace your heritage, embrace your hair texture, embrace protective styles.”
Twigs inspiration for the zine’s aesthetic came from growing up in South London, where the black barber shops had muted colours.
Follow FKA Twigs to stay updated on the zine.