If you weren’t already considering growing your hair waist or butt-length (or getting extensions) due to mermaid hair beginning to trend, Kim Shui’s show at New York Fashion Week on Sunday, Feb. 12, would surely convince you. As the models walked down the stairs at the Capitale building wearing lace, cropped vegan fur jackets, and vegan snakeskin, their mini-skirt-hem-length hair swung behind them on the runway. Going along with the letter “K” print motif throughout the collection (which appeared bedazzled on necklaces, skirts, and bras), some models even had a “K” hair tattoo printed on the back of their smooth straight hair—officially declaring 2023 the year that hair becomes the next makeup canvas.
The Autumn/Winter 2023 collection was a celebration of femininity, exploring autonomy and freedom. “I think that the Kim Shui girl has always been a girl who celebrates her sensuality and the female form,” Shui told NYLON. “She's not afraid to take agency. She dresses herself instead of being dressed by others.” Shui says that the collection was heavily influenced by the feminist political issues of the past year. “We’ve seen women’s rights taken away from them, protests over dress, hair, and appearance,” she says. “The Kim Shui girl is an act of resistance and a symbol of courage. She’s taking into account her power of self and doesn’t forsake the freedoms she has been given, bringing awareness and transcendence to the public.”
Alongside the ultra-straight extensions, including red striped hair tattoos, some models were also given knee-length box braids. These, say Youm and Miller, were done the day of the show. “Our last model’s look was executed start to finish in 20 minutes,” says Miller, who explains her everyday hair is a curly, inch-long pixie cut. The result, with the hair moving and swinging as each model walked, was meant to be reminiscent of the “video vixen vibes” from the heyday of MTV, says Youm.
With New York Fashion Week wrapping up this week, there’s no denying that the Kim Shui show set the scene for 2023 to be the year of the maximalist, politically-engaged It-girl. Completing a
