Nowadays, an item of clothing or a beauty hack will go viral on TikTok and the person who posted it typically gets credited. Now, typically, the person who posted it most likely didn’t come up with it. If they did, congrats! However, there seems to be a trend where the real inspiration was taken from black culture.
It can be hard to fact check every single idea, but it is important to understand it’s roots. Black Americans, especially in the 90s/2000s, completely laid the groundwork for a lot of the trend resurgences we have seen the past few years. And, to no one’s real surprise, they hardly get credit.
Erasure of Black culture is, disgustingly, quite a common occurance. So rarely do Black people, specifically Black Women, get the recognition they deserve for their intelligence and creativity. More often than not, because of the power dynamic, white people will do the same thing a Black person has done and call it revolutionary.
Now, this is just about beauty trends, not the more important, historical shaping that Black culture has truly given us. If you can, be sure to do more research on the impact Black people have had in the world. For now though, let’s examine some of the monumental beauty ideas created by them.
Hoop earrings
Specifically in the 60s/70s, Black women would sport hoop earrings as a sign of unity among the Black community. And in the 1920’s, Civil Rights activist Josephine Baker had an iconic look of her wearing big hoop earrings. And again, in the 80’s, they would become a staple for Black women, but were shortly after considered “trashy” by white peers. Now, hoops are one of the most common forms of earrings to buy, however, the recognition and years of ridicule seem to be avoided when discussing the origins of the style.
Acrylic Nails
Go outside and I bet you’ll see some form of acrylic nail within minutes. What you may not know, though, is that nail art has actually been around for over 4,000 years. Women in Egypt were rocking a form of nail art that would eventually become the well-known acrylic nails. In the 90’s, racist artworks would have Black women with exaggerated, extremely long nails as a way to mock the culture due to Black celebrities like Lil Kim and Missy Elliot having them. And of course, when white women on red carpets started showing off their perfectly long nails, only then was it accepted.
Lettuce Hem
One of the most popular forms of hemming in recent years, the lettuce hem is known for its jagged edge. However, no one really knows where the idea came from. Well, those who don’t do research on it. The lettuce hem was actually created by African-American Stephen Burrows in the 70’s after a designer asked him to find a color in a “lettuce” shade. His creativity marked a complete 180 in the way designers thought about making clothes in a creative way. Today, the lettuce hem style can be seen at every chain clothing store in the United States.
Sneaker culture
Sneakers started to become more of a fashion staple and less of active wear in the 80’s. Any guesses why? With the emergence of hip-hop, on top of Michael Jordan releasing his ‘Air Jordan’ shoes, sneakers transformed into a billion dollar industry, and it has only grown since then. Now, you see people selling specific sneakers for thousands of dollars, with some people even collecting hundreds of pairs. It has become an entire category of fashion in itself, all thanks to the Black culture who created it.
Ultimately…
It is time we start giving credit where it’s due. The Black community has been fighting against being silenced and ignored for their contributions to the world for generations. At a time in history where we like to think we are progressive, a lot of older issues are ignored.
I don’t expect everyone to look up where every fashion trend originated from, but it is pertinent to remain educated on the lack of representation and credit the Black community gets.