- [Both] Deh, deh, deh, deh, deh!
[both snapping and clapping]
- So happening- - Go back-
[both chuckling]
There ya go.
Bang. - Ayy!
- Okay there, we got it!
[slow hip-hop music]
Hi, I'm Vernon Francois.
- I'm Amandla Stenberg.
And today we are going to be giving you
a Nina Simone inspired up do.
[slow techno music]
- We...do not know what is gonna happen.
[Amandla laughing] So...
- Ever. [laughing]
- No...this is very true as well.
You're just gonna figure this out with is in real time.
[slow techno music]
Step one for me is using a hydrating water spray mist
which allows you to moisturize,
get really into the depths of the scalp,
and protect the braids.
And this is really great for working on any hair type
or any hair texture or for any hair experience.
You can even use it as like a primer before a blowout.
In this case, I'm using it,
as you can see, on the braids,
all the way down the strands of the braids as well.
This just really helps to keep the hair soft.
Malleable is really important for me.
Having flexibility and just really actually
massage that into the scalp and into the strands.
[slow techno music]
- Haaaaaaaaah.
Because I am...
a gender fluid and queer person,
I feel like...
the way that I wanna express my identity through my hair
can change a lot.
[Amandla laughing]
- [Vernon] It does.
[Amandla laughing]
Which I'm all for, by the way, which is why we are living.
- [Amandla] Recently I've been in a more,
kind of feminine, phase.
Which, who knows when that will end.
Could end any moment!
[hip-hop music]
- [Vernon] I'm drawn to picking up this first.
I got these hair extensions, Yaki-type,
but the two tone is really good.
I like to use two tone.
I very rarely use one whole tone-
- Yeah-
- [Vernon] And this is texture specific.
- When we choose a texture, it's very intentional, right?
- Yes. - It's to connote something.
Whether that thing being connoted
is a historical reference,
an expression of blackness-
- Yes-
- [Amandla] And Vernon also was incredibly creative-
- As you're talking,
man, I don't know if you just saw my face with smiling,
I literally was gonna braid this in
but soon as I put my hand to braid,
I thought, oh, why braid it when I can knot it?
I'm divorced from any idea that I have,
there's no commitment, but what I am committed to
is continuing to keep exploring what I'm doing.
And this is not tight-
Right? - I love that.
- [Vernon] Right?
- [Amandla] It reminds me of friendship bracelets
I used to make.
- [Vernon] Yeah. Oh, yes!
Exactly! - [Amandla] You know?
Cuz you kind of use the string as the base-
- [Vernon] Yeah!
- [Amandla] and then wrapping around creates this pattern-
- It's exactly that experience.
The way that I'm lifting is from the point of the ear
all the way up.
And then you use this as your focal point
from the crown to continue to lift up.
[soft techno music]
I don't know if you wanna turn around
so I can start on the backside.
The structure can always come from
where you pull the braids from.
So for example, as I want this to stick up all in the middle
versus just pulling the mold up to sit in the middle,
you can see now I've cross stitched
over this particular point here.
So you can see there's a cross section happening here.
Not only does that look aesthetically beautiful
but it creates a base that is indestructible.
[soft techno music]
Pulling it through...almost just using the curl of my thumb.
So like so.
- [Amandla] Whoa.
- You see that? And that's how I keep it really neat.
- What the hell?
[both chuckling]
[indistinct]
That was magic.
[slow hip-hop music]
- I'm happy with the structure that we have here.
We have a nice base now, like the thickness here, the width
is balancing with the skull shape, with the shoulders,
with the neckline of what she's wearing.
[slow hip-hop music]
- It would be really difficult
for me to pick my favorite hairstyle...
The Oscars is definitely up there for me.
I wanted something that was classic, but powerful.
I love bringing, you know, braid styles like, you know,
very unapologetic black braid structures to those spaces.
[upbeat techno music]
- What we're gonna do for step five
is dress this around to the left side
and create this sort of beautiful, beautiful,
sweep situation.
[upbeat techno music]
[blow dryer blowing]
[upbeat techno music]
Maybe for the last couple of years,
this slicking and laying down edges
has become a cultural phenomenon
through a lot of my work.
Most often the hairline is intentionally politely groomed.
It's not laid, for example.
What I'm using is a hydrating water
that is full of amino acid.
It's just fatty acid.
It's just pure water.
Just misting it onto the hair, working my fingers through,
and going back in again.
And I can use this actually on the hairstyle itself.
Cause of the design of this, it's not gonna wet the hair,
it's gonna hydrate it and mist it
so it's got this exposed
and the hair can continue to be moisturized
without wetting it.
I always go in with a comb and a brush
but my fingers are the best way just to work this product,
to get the curl and to get it popping and how I like it.
This is one of the oldest tools in my kit,
which was a gift to me.
I just like to use this just to soften the glide, the hair.
It's really important you register the direction
of how the hair is falling
rather than trying to push it into a direction.
So this curl is curling like this,
even though I actually wanna curl it this way.
- Mhm.
- So I'm actually going to go with it
and just push it down...
that way and then you find it will curl straight away
as it should do.
And actually will sit nicer.
You're just not gonna win trying to get the hair
to do something that it's not genetically designed to do.
- Mm.
Feels really expressive and celebratory
and spunky while also being deeply elegant
and it's sophisticated and structural.
So I love it.
[Amandla chuckles]
- [Vernon] Thanks.
[slow techno music]
So this is step seven.
Who would've thought
there would've been another step in there?
I hope you're keeping your pen and your pack close to you.
These are great.
They look cool, but could I be more intentional with them?
Cause I did cut them as just placeholders.
Literally gonna change this before your eyes.
Do not blink cuz you'd be very upset.
[Amandla chuckles]
But soon as I take this shorter,
the nuance of this now changes
and the story becomes a whole new story.
They are all welcome-
- I really wish I was going to a ball.
- The ball that- darling, you are the ball.
[Amandla chuckling]
You are the ball, darling!
[funky techno music]
- [Amandla] The height, the shape, the royal element of it-
- [Vernon] Right-
- [Amandla] But then talking about
the actual cultural reference
and the significance of the hair
what it means, what the shape means-
- [Vernon] Right.
- [Amandla] Then we started thinking about Nina.
[Vernon laughing] This is called...
- [Both] "Champagne Darling"
- And this is the champagne pouring out.
[Vernon laughing]
- [Amandla] It is the champagne pouring out.
- Champagne, anyone? - It's fantastic.
Well, you know we're gonna
have to have our own photo shoot now.
[Vernon chuckles] [funky techno music]
Well, thank you, Vogue, for giving us the opportunity
to create "Champagne Darling".
[both chuckling]
- Thank you
Vogue.
- We love you. We appreciate you.
- [Vernon] [whispers] Yes.
[slow techno music]